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Monday, February 10, 2025

UNHCR, UN-Habitat join forces to improve urban settlements in El Salvador

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UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, have launched “My Community, My House,” a joint initiative to improve housing, public spaces, and community governance in El Salvador.

La Campanera
La Campanera, El Salvador

The programme, which will run from December 2024 to June 2025 in La Campanera – a settlement of more than 12,000 people in the Soyapango district – aims to address forced displacement and strengthen social cohesion in communities affected by violence.

Decades of violence and insecurity have deeply impacted El Salvador’s cities, leading to abandoned housing, unsafe public spaces, and weakened social ties. The initiative focuses on participatory governance, the revitalisation of public spaces, and housing improvements to help rebuild trust and foster peaceful coexistence.

“The transformation of La Campanera will not only contribute to improving the living conditions of its inhabitants but will also make visible the capacity of communities to rebuild themselves when they have the right opportunities and tools,” said Fernanda Lonardoni, Head of UN-Habitat Mexico, Cuba, and Central America.

“The comprehensiveness of the proposal makes it so that people and their communities are at the centre of the process of recovery of public spaces and the improvement of housing. Bringing together humanitarian, development and peacebuilding approaches and working in partnership promotes citizen participation, peaceful coexistence, economic promotion, and the reconstruction of the social fabric in communities historically affected by violence and forced displacement,” said Mónica Tse Candido, Acting UNHCR Representative in El Salvador.

The programme is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of Public Works, and the Municipality of San Salvador Este, among others. It will support community-led planning and decision-making while improving infrastructure, including the construction of sports fields, restoration of green areas, better lighting, and improved waste management. Housing upgrades will also be provided for displaced families and those in vulnerable situations.

By addressing the root causes of forced displacement and urban instability, UNHCR and UN-Habitat aim to make La Campanera a model for sustainable, community-driven urban transformation, with lessons that could be applied across the region.

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