Research to address socio-environmental determinants of health and access to healthcare in urban(izing) Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT Africa’s rapid population growth and high urban growth rates have been linked to increasing urbanisation of poverty and adverse urban health outcomes, raising intricate local and global policy questions. The specific focus on urban health in Africa is critical in answering key questions relevant to the health, livelihood and wellbeing of the urban poor who constitute the majority of city dwellers and whose indicators drive national indicators across the region. This special issue on urban health in Africa responds to these questions as part of the renewed search for pathways to fill the gaps in knowledge and support evidence-based policy and action in the region. The spectrum of work highlights new models and approaches, wider social determinants of health and its unique intersection with policy and practice relevant to the regional context and the urban health agendas in the SDGs, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda.