World Habitat Day

Focusing the world on secure tenure, poverty housing

As part of our mission to make housing a matter of conscience and action, Habitat for Humanity will raise its voice to support World Habitat Day on Monday, October 6, 2008.

This year, Habitat for Humanity is demonstrating support of World Habitat Day by shining the spotlight on the lack of secure tenure for the world’s poor.

World Habitat Day, an annual event created by the United Nations, falls on the first Monday in October and unites people of goodwill and organizations around the cause of housing to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

For the more than 1.6 billion people suffering from some sort of shelter deprivation in the world, that future is bleak. Without access to adequate shelter, clean water or sanitation, upwards of 10 million people die each year from preventable diseases. Many of them are infants. In some parts of the world, entire families face forced eviction from property or land they own.

Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, with half of humanity now living in towns and cities. Today, one-third of the current urban population—a staggering 1 billion people—live in slums. By 2030, estimates are that two-thirds of the world’s population will be urban dwellers, exponentially increasing the number of people living in slums if action is not taken to provide decent and affordable housing.

Breaking the cycle of poverty
Secure tenure signifies that an individual has protection against eviction from housing or property they rightfully own or rent. Right now, families in many parts of the world are being forced from their homes as a result of harassment, corruption, excessive bureaucracy and discrimination against women and minorities.

Once secure tenure is established, it can break the cycle of poverty by spurring economic development, offering long-term stability for families and reducing conflicts within communities.

Please join Habitat for Humanity in support of World Habitat Day 2008, as we raise our voices and take a stand in support of those facing wrongful eviction in our communities, in our countries and in our world.


More information about World Habitat Day and ideas about how to get involved can be found in the World Habitat Day Handbook. You can also send an e-mail to worldhabitatday@habitat.org.