NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The upgrading of informal settlements that have sprung in Africa's densely populated cities should be placed at the heart of the continent's quest to achieve inclusive growth, durable peace and stability, campaigners have said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Thursday evening, the campaigners stressed the urgency of revamping infrastructure and amenities in the slums in a bid to tackle unemployment, pollution and infectious diseases.

More than 60 percent of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa live in slums that lack basic amenities like decent shelter, safe drinking water and sanitation, according to the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat).

Rose Molokoane, the coordinator of South Africa's Homeless People's Federation, said that tackling the informal settlements crisis in Africa required political goodwill, smart investments and improved urban planning.

Molokoane also underscored the role of data, enhanced monitoring and community engagement in a bid to avert mushrooming of shanty towns that breeds social ills and environmental pollution.

Expanding access to decent shelter, education, health, clean energy and safe drinking water to slum dwellers could unlock vast potential in Africa's mushrooming cities, said Rebecca Ochong, the associate director for Global Affairs and Advocacy at Habitat for Humanity, an international charity.

Ochong added that securing land tenure for slum residents and incentivizing the private sector to invest in modern low-cost houses will unleash positive economic, social and ecological outcomes in the continent's cities and towns.

African governments should leverage partnerships with donors, businesses and local innovators to scale up investments in affordable housing for slum residents as part of their urban renewal agenda, said Caroline Kabaria, a research scientist at Nairobi-based African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).

Kabaria called on governments to address data gaps, under-funding, policy and regulatory hurdles that have derailed the implementation of slum upgrading projects in a rapidly urbanizing continent. Enditem

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