Why Habitat Is Needed
The world is experiencing a global housing crisis
- By 2020, it is estimated the world slum population will reach almost 1 billion.
- Lack of clean water and sanitation claim the lives of more than 1.8 million young children every year.
In the United States, 48.5 million people are living in poverty
- Minimum wage is not keeping up with the rising cost of living and many workers struggle to afford decent housing.
Decent, stable housing provides more than just a roof over someone’s head
- Stability for families and children.
- Sense of dignity and pride.
- Health, physical safety and security.
- Increase of educational and job prospects.
The transformational ability of good housing
- Clean, warm housing is essential for prevention and care of diseases of poverty like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhea, and malaria.
- Children under 5 in Malawi living in Habitat for Humanity houses have 44 percent less malaria, respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases compared to children living in traditional houses.
Housing must become a priority
- The percentage of people without access to decent, stable housing is rising.
- Increasing the housing supply across the globe is essential.
- Adequate housing is vitally important to the health of the world’s economies, communities and populations.
- If we are to succeed in the fight against poverty, we must support the expansion of housing both as policy and as practice.