Community services - peri-urban Luanda, Angola

The city of Luanda is rapidly expanding. About 70% of the population lives on the periphery. These areas lack infrastructures and the reach of public services is limited to health and education. Existing infrastructures are degraded due to a combination of factors such as war, negligence and lack of policies, as well as a lack of expertise in relevant fields. Migration towards cities has led to the creation of heterogeneous neighbourhoods that lack the initiative to organize themselves collectively. Collective structures are generally in a poor state. In 1991 the Freedom of Association Law came into effect and that has led to the creation of a number of national NGOs and Community-based Organizations. It was in this context that Development Workshop (DW) in partnership with EPAL, Luanda’s Water Authority, and DNA, National Water Directorate developed the Water Programme for Luanda’s periphery.