Nouakchott, Mauritania | Research on Poverty Alleviation and Shelter Improvement: Twize Program

Commissariat aux Droits de l’Homme, à la Lutte Contre la Pauvreté et à l’Insertion, 2001 CUDS prepared a case study on the Mauritanian government’s policy to improve living conditions in marginalized settlements located at the fringe of Nouakchott, Mauritania’s capital and contribute to the socio-economic inclusion of their population. As a result of severe droughts in the 1970s and 1980s, settlements at the periphery of Nouakchott have accommodated a large influx of nomatic people settling chaotically and building makeshift structures on squatter land. Sameh Wahba documented the TWIZÉ program, which operates in several communities at the periphery of the city and aims to improve shelter conditions and alleviate widespread poverty. The TWIZÉ program was implemented by way of a partnership between the Mauritanian Commissariat aux Droits de l’Homme, à la Lutte Contre la Pauvreté, et à l’Insertion and GRET, a French NGO active in Nouakchott, with the participation of the municipality of Nouakchott and other local NGOs. The TWIZÉ program focused on the regularization of illegal land tenure, the delivery of microcredit for the development of microenterprises and the improvement of dwellings, the improvement of infrastructure services, and the provision of training and capacity building initiatives for community members. Assessment of the pilot initiatives documented its significant impact on household income and living conditions, but also highlighted the large amount of subsidies disbursed. The extent of subsidies and rising construction costs eventually undermined the financial sustainability of the program and led to its closure in 2008. Back to Library