Addressing Urban Health Challenges in a Changing World

Addressing Urban Health Challenges in a Changing World: Guiding the UN-Habitat-WHO partnership priorities

Urbanization has the potential to improve public health by enhancing access to essential services, promoting healthier lifestyles, and driving infrastructure and healthcare innovations. Well-planned urban development can provide clean water, sanitation, healthcare, education, and green spaces, leading to better health outcomes. It can also foster social cohesion, economic growth, and health-promoting policies. However, realizing these benefits requires sustainable and inclusive urban planning that prioritizes both physical and mental health. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights indicates that adequate housing is more than just shelter; it’s a pivotal determinant of health and a fundamental human right essential for preserving individual dignity and promoting social equity. Adequate housing plays a crucial role  in advancing SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

To drive forward collaborative action on urban development and public health, UN-Habitat and WHO are partnering to address these issues.

UN-Habitat is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote adequate shelter for all and is a focal point for sustainable urbanization and human settlements. The Strategic Plan of UN-Habitat for 2026-2029 will introduce a focus on adequate housing, land and basic services for all, which has the potential to recognize health as both a fundamental service and a key development outcome. Meanwhile, it provides a strong framework for expanding the definition of urban health to reflect its complexity, emphasizing its social, physical, environmental, and governance dimensions.

WHO as the United Nations agency for health and the directing and coordinating authority on international health, provides leadership on global health matters, shapes the health research agenda, sets health norms and standards, articulates evidence-based policy options, provides technical support to countries, and monitors and assesses health trends. Over the last few decades, WHO has strengthened its efforts to address urban health and established partnerships and networks of cities to allow sharing of experiences in improving health and promoting well-being in urban areas. WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work, A Global Health Strategy for 2025–2028: advancing equity and resilience in a turbulent world highlights the importance of urban health.

This Geneva Urban Debate will bring together public health and urban development experts and practitioners to explore emerging health determinants in urban development, discuss updates to existing tools and guidance, and how to further shared goals and objectives while accelerating joint action by the two agencies to improve urban health.

Agenda

13:00-13:15 – Welcome remarks

• Dr. Graham Alabaster – Head of Geneva Office at UN-Habitat
• Dr. Nathalie Roebbel – Unit Head Urban Health at WHO
• Ms. Anh Thu Duong – Co-director of the Global Cities Hub

13:15-13:45 – Session 1 – Strengthening Public Health in Urban Settings: Building on UN-Habitat & WHO Partnership

This session will discuss the progress of the collaboration between UN-Habitat and WHO to enhance public health in urban settings. The discussion will highlight key achievements, challenges, and practical strategies to foster healthier cities and communities.

Framing presentation:

• Dr. Graham Alabaster – Head of Geneva Office at UN-Habitat
• Dr. Nathalie Roebbel – Unit Head Urban Health at WHO

General discussion with participants:

Moderated by Dr. Nick Banatvala – Head of Secretariat, UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs

13:45-15:15 – Session 2 – Identifying the Missing Dimensions of Urban Health in relation to urban development, with emphasis on housing

This session will explore the thematic gaps in existing tools and interventions related to urban development and health, with a focus on how these gaps contribute to disparities in health outcomes. It will also examine the underlying drivers of these disparities – such as migration, displacement, climate change, and conflict – and their resulting impacts, including mental health issues, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the spread of vector-borne diseases, among others. Emphasis will be put on housing as key determinant of health and its strong link to urban sustainability goals.

Framing presentation:

• Dr. Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen – Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, IS Global

Speakers:

• Dr. Jason Corburn – Director of the Institute of Urban and Regional Development and the Center for Global Healthy Cities at the University of California, Berkeley
• Dr. Allen G. K. Maina – Chief of Public Health Section at UNHCR
• Dr. Blessing Mberu – Head of Population Dynamics and Urbanization at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Nairobi
• Dr. Jo Ivey Boufford – Clinical Professor of Global Health and Pediatrics at the New York University School of Global Public Health
• Ms. Kobie Brand – Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI, Regional Director of ICLEI Africa and Global Director of ICLEI’s Cities Biodiversity Centre
• Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith – Consultant on vector-borne diseases at the WHO and Professor of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine

General discussion with participants:

Moderated by Dr. Andras Szorenyi – Senior Policy Advisor at the Global Cities Hub

15:15-15:30 – Next steps and closing remarks

• Dr. Graham Alabaster – Head of Geneva Office at UN-Habitat
• Dr. Nathalie Roebbel – Unit Head Urban Health at WHO

Registration

Please register here for the event.