'Urbanizing African Cities, Vulnerable to Climate Change'

An environmental non-governmental organization, UN-HABITAT, has said that Africa being the world's fastest urbanizing continent, has much to gain from the growth of cities, but is also at a high risk from unchecked chaotic urbanization. The organization in a report titled "Enhancing urban safety and security" states that Africa's rapid urbanization generates the potential for substantial losses from single large disaster events, whilst poverty, conflict, chronic disease and weak gover-nance further aggravate Africa's vulnerability, making it highly susceptible to the local impacts of global environmental change. "Africa will be the worst affected by climate change and coastal cities such as Lagos and Cairo will be the first defence line," it said.