The IBSA Human Settlements Group

Project: The Human Settlements Group of India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum

Partners: The governments of India, Brazil and South Africa, World Bank Institute

Launched in 2007 as one of the thematic platforms of the IBSA Trilateral Agreement, the Human Settlement Group is committed to improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers in the three member countries by 2020.

The IBSA Human Settlement Group offers a unique South-South cooperation platform facilitated by the World Bank Institute and the Cities Alliance to compare different approaches and draw lessons on national policies and programmes. The three countries have continually raised the need to improve knowledge and skills in the area of upgrading settlements and relevant areas. This would help them design appropriate policies, programmes, and corresponding guidelines and institutional arrangements to contribute to their development goals.

Apart from regular meetings, a joint IBSA-Human Settlements Knowledge Exchange virtual platform was launched to support continuous discussion and peer learning among members. A series of virtual debates on financing slum upgrading, resettlement policies, monitoring and evaluation of national programmes, as well as scaling up capacity through national programmes, are being held to support the learning among these three countries.