This photo taken on May 29, 2025 shows a view of the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
NAIROBI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The urgency to tackle the escalating global housing crisis took center stage as the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly opened Thursday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
More than 1,000 delegates, including ministers, city mayors, diplomats and representatives of industry, multilateral agencies, civil society and academia, attended the meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
During the two-day meeting in Nairobi, participants are expected to finalize decisions deferred from the June 2023 session, injecting vitality into efforts to address the global housing crisis, transform informal settlements, and chart a future for people-centered smart cities.
In a video address to the assembly, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the world's cities are grappling with multiple challenges such as the climate crisis, inequality, conflicts and lack of decent shelter.
Guterres said that universal access to adequate, safe and affordable housing is imperative in order to guarantee dignity, resilience, and sustainable livelihoods for the rapidly growing urban population.
"Housing is a human right, is a public good, and it is crucial to achieving Sustainable Development Goals," Guterres said.
Nearly three billion people globally lack access to adequate housing, secure land tenure, and basic services such as clean drinking water and sanitation, according to Annaclaudia Rossbach, executive director of UN-Habitat.
Rossbach also noted that over 1.1 billion people live in informal settlements globally, while 300 million are homeless, with the speedy implementation of UN-Habitat's Strategic Plan for the 2026-2029 period expected to tame the escalating housing crisis.
President of the UN-Habitat Assembly Enrique Javier Ochoa Martinez said that the enactment of progressive policies and innovative resource mobilization will be key to expanding access to decent shelter.
According to Martinez, delivering the "housing for all" goal will reduce inequalities, foster resilient growth, hasten urban renewal, and transform the livelihoods of city dwellers.
As demand for housing outstrips supply, governments have a duty to invest in supportive infrastructure and low-cost technologies required to expand access to affordable homes in cities, said Alice Wahome, Kenya's cabinet secretary in the Ministry for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development.
Wahome said that Kenya has rallied behind multilateral initiatives aimed at tackling the housing crisis affecting the urban poor while leveraging innovative financing to achieve the affordable shelter-for-all agenda.
As the highest global decision-making body on sustainable urbanization and human settlements, the UN-Habitat Assembly brings together all 193 United Nations member states and key stakeholders every four years. ■
This photo taken on May 29, 2025 shows a view of the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
President of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly Enrique Javier Ochoa Martinez presides over the resumed second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)
Dong Jianguo, vice minister of housing and urban-rural development of China, delivers a speech during the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
Executive director of UN-Habitat Annaclaudia Rossbach delivers a speech during the resumed second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)
Alice Wahome, Kenya's cabinet secretary in the Ministry for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, delivers a speech during the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on May 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)
This photo taken on May 29, 2025 shows a view of the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. (Xinhua/Li Yahui)
This photo taken on May 29, 2025 shows a view of the resumed second session of the United Nations (UN) Habitat Assembly held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)
