Habitat for Humanity and our partners around the world today launched a five-year campaign, called Home Equals, seeking policy changes at the local, national and global levels to increase access to adequate housing in informal settlements.
More than 1 billion people around the world live in slums and other informal settlements, and that figure continues to rise. These communities have very limited access to basic services such as clean water, sanitation, and electricity. People living in informal settlements lack land and property rights, often fearing eviction. They face worsening threats from climate change, including droughts and floods.
“When it comes to the places we call home, people living in informal settlements are simply not being treated as equals,” said Jonathan Reckford, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “By advocating for policy changes, our partners in the Home Equals campaign will be increasing access to adequate housing and supporting innovative solutions coming from the residents of informal settlements themselves. Join us in creating a more equitable world. Because home equals health. Home equals safety and security. And home equals an opportunity for a better future.”
At the global level, Habitat for Humanity is calling on G7 member states — a group of leading industrial nations set to meet this weekend in Hiroshima, Japan — to recognize housing as a critical lever for development progress and commit to addressing housing needs in informal settlements as a way to advance international development priorities in areas such as economic growth, health and education.
The economic and human development gains from improving housing at a large scale in informal settlements would be substantial, according to a report released today in support of the Home Equals campaign. The first-of-its-kind report from Habitat for Humanity and our research partner, the International Institute for Environment and…
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