The Luanda Urban Poverty Programme

This paper discusses:

• The work of the Luanda Urban Poverty Programme (LUPP) in Angola;
• The sectors in which they were involved;
• Their places of work.

The paper summarizes some of activities that LUPP is involved in:

• LUPP was the first program to develop and test microfinance models in Angola;
• It has supported the creation of an independent business development service that is now 100% sustainable;
• As an approach to reduce poverty within the extremely poor, LUPP has piloted consumer cooperatives, aimed at reducing the cost of six basic products;
• It has established and tested approaches to, and methodologies for, water and latrine supply, as well as solid waste disposal, with a focus on the hard to access peri-urban areas;
• In urban governance, it has made significant advances in developing approaches and methodologies for citizen/municipal engagement and dialogue.

Finally, the paper concludes with some of the key achievements of LUPP:

• Gained the credibility of government partners;
• Played a role in putting urban poverty high on the public policy agenda:
  • government partners at all levels are now raising urban poverty in open forums;
  • policy makers and practitioners are listening;
  • doors of government are opening at various levels for information, demonstration and lesson learning from the LUPP models and approaches.
• Opened spaces for state/ citizen engagement, and provided exposure at different levels to participatory approaches to development;
• Provided practical solutions for poverty reduction and is having a real impact at the household and community level;
• Empowers ordinary people.