UN Launches Urgent Global Housing Strategy at Nairobi Assembly

The resumed second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly opened today at UN-Habitat Headquarters in Nairobi with a resounding call for immediate global action to address the escalating housing crisis affecting billions worldwide.

Hosted by the Government of Kenya, the Assembly brought together 193 Member States to shape the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2026–2029. The plan prioritizes affordable housing, secure land tenure, and access to basic services as key pillars of sustainable urban development.

UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach emphasized the urgency of the crisis, citing nearly three billion people lacking adequate housing and essential services such as clean water and sanitation. The new strategic framework aims to directly confront this humanitarian emergency by focusing on vulnerable populations, particularly those living in slums and informal settlements.

The High-level Dialogue on Adequate Housing, taking place on the Assembly’s opening day, will provide governments a platform to coordinate efforts and mobilize resources for transformative urban solutions.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, Alice Wahome, reiterated the host country’s commitment to UN-Habitat’s agenda, highlighting the critical role of housing in promoting equity, dignity, and sustainable development.

Enrique Javier Ochoa Martínez, President of the Habitat Assembly, called on nations to transform dialogue into actionable policies, stressing the importance of international cooperation, inclusive governance, and equitable resource distribution to close global housing gaps.

The proposed Strategic Plan 2026–2029 centers on three impact areas: inclusive prosperity, climate and environmental resilience, and post-crisis recovery. It builds on resolutions passed in the Assembly’s 2023 session, which reaffirmed the right to adequate housing and initiated the creation of an Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group to develop a global housing data platform.

According to UN-Habitat, more than 1.1 billion people currently reside in slums or informal settlements, with over 300 million experiencing homelessness. The Strategic Plan offers a comprehensive roadmap to reverse these trends by supporting evidence-based policymaking, data sharing, and locally driven action.

UN-Habitat, the UN agency dedicated to sustainable urbanization, operates in more than 90 countries. It works to build socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and economically vibrant cities through technical assistance, policy development, and capacity building.

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