The global housing crisis requires an urgent and coordinated response based on comprehensive housing policies, multi-stakeholder collaboration, sustainable financing, and the strengthening of accountability mechanisms.
elchi reports that this is stated in the “Baku Call to Action,” adopted following the conclusion of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13).
The document notes that despite the common aspects of the housing crisis, every district, city, country, and region has its own unique characteristics; therefore, local and national contexts are crucial for fully understanding the scale of the problem.
“At the core of this document lies a call to reprioritize housing provision by guiding principles of comprehensive housing policies supported by organized multi-stakeholder actions, long-term financing that takes specific conditions into account, capacity building, multi-level governance, sustainable public investments, and measurable accountability mechanisms,” the document states.
Recalling international commitments in the housing sector—from recognizing adequate housing as a fundamental human right to the implementation of “Habitat” processes, the 2030 Agenda, and the Pact for the Future—the authors of the Call emphasized the necessity of transitioning “from diagnostics to action.”
In the decade of the New Urban Agenda, the document calls on member states to accelerate its implementation and strengthen the coordinating role of UN-Habitat in overcoming the global housing crisis.
“Baku Call to Action” notes that UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan for 2026–2029 can serve as a basis for accelerating activities in the housing sector, including through the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group (OEWG-H) of experts on the issue of adequate housing for all.
Member states and stakeholders are encouraged to actively participate in the work of this group, nominate experts and practitioners, and ensure the inclusive participation of underrepresented population groups.
The document also emphasizes the opportunity to turn the next decade and the subsequent five sessions of the World Urban Forum into a “decade of action” to accelerate the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and achieve measurable progress in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.