Home is where the heart is – and where development begins – UN News

Home is where the heart is – and where development begins – UN News

 

Report on Housing and its Centrality to the Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: The Critical Role of Housing in the 2030 Agenda

A recent High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development highlighted the significant lack of progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A central, yet often underrecognized, impediment is the global housing crisis. With over one billion people living in informal settlements and slums, inadequate housing represents one of the largest development challenges worldwide. As stated by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the home is the primary environment where opportunity is either granted or denied, making housing a foundational element for achieving the entire 2030 Agenda.

Case Study: Mathare Slum and Localized Development Imperatives

Sanitation, Health, and Well-being (SDG 3 & SDG 6)

The Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya, exemplifies the acute challenges faced by informal settlements. It houses approximately 500,000 people within five square kilometers, leading to extreme overcrowding. The absence of formal sewage systems results in human waste flowing through uncovered rivulets. These conditions pose a direct threat to public health and represent a significant failure in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

Community-Led Education Initiatives (SDG 1 & SDG 4)

Despite the severe environmental and health challenges, the Mathare community has demonstrated remarkable resilience by establishing its own school. This initiative, created without formal external funding, aims to provide children with a chance to escape systemic poverty. It is a powerful local effort to realize SDG 4 (Quality Education) and serves as a critical tool for breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle, directly addressing the core objective of SDG 1 (No Poverty).

The Imperative for Localized Development

The community-driven school in Mathare led UNICEF’s Denis Jobin to conclude that “development should be localised.” This observation underscores the necessity of recognizing and supporting grassroots solutions as a key strategy for making meaningful progress on the SDGs.

Housing as a Litmus Test for SDG Progress

The Scale of the Global Housing Crisis (SDG 11)

Globally, nearly three billion people face an affordable housing crisis, a reality that makes the achievement of SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) a distant goal. Rola Dashti, Under-Secretary-General for ESCWA, described housing as “a litmus test of our social contract,” measuring whether development genuinely reaches all people or bypasses the most vulnerable.

Housing as a Mirror of Systemic Inequalities

Inadequate housing is a reflection of broader societal inequalities and directly undermines progress across multiple SDGs. The conditions in slums and informal settlements lead to a range of adverse outcomes:

  • Children are up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday, a stark failure in achieving SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).
  • Children are 45 percent more likely to be stunted due to poor nutrition, hindering progress on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger).
  • Women and girls face a heightened risk of gender-based violence, in direct opposition to SDG 5 (Gender Equality).
  • The prevalence of human trafficking and child exploitation violates the principles of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

The Challenge of “Intergenerational Invisibility” and its Impact on SDGs

Data Deficiencies and Policy Exclusion

Residents of informal settlements are frequently excluded from national censuses, rendering them “invisible” in official data. This exclusion means they are not considered in the formulation of policies, social protection programs, or national budgets. The lack of formal addresses further complicates the delivery of essential services, such as cash transfers, thereby impeding targeted interventions for nearly every SDG.

Perpetuating the Cycle of Poverty (SDG 1)

This systemic invisibility traps individuals and families in a “vicious circle” of deprivation. As Mr. Jobin noted, being born into an invisible family perpetuates a cycle of invisibility and poverty that is passed down to subsequent generations, making the attainment of SDG 1 (No Poverty) an impossibility for these communities.

Urbanization Trends and Future Projections

The Urban Paradox and SDG Implications

An estimated 1.2 million people migrate to cities each week, often in search of better opportunities. However, the rapid growth of informal settlements creates an “urban paradox” where millions are left behind, unable to access the benefits of urban wealth. This trend places immense pressure on urban infrastructure and services, complicating efforts to build inclusive and sustainable cities.

Projected Growth and Urgency for Action

By 2050, the number of people living in informal settlements is projected to triple to three billion, with over 90 percent of this growth occurring in Asia and Africa. Anacláudia Rossbach of UN Habitat emphasized that these statistics “represent families, they represent workers and entire communities being left behind.” This forecast underscores the urgent need for proactive strategies to manage urban growth in line with the principles of SDG 11.

Conclusion: Reframing Housing as a Foundational Human Right for Sustainable Development

Overcoming Implementation Challenges

Development organizations face significant hurdles in addressing the crisis, including a lack of reliable national data and the need to navigate complex informal governance structures. These challenges have, to date, limited the effectiveness of interventions despite widespread awareness of the problem.

A Call to Action for the 2030 Agenda

To accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda, a fundamental shift in perspective is required. As Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed asserted, adequate housing is not merely a result of development but “the foundation upon which all other development must rest.” Recognizing housing as a fundamental human right is essential for building the peace, stability, and justice envisioned in SDG 16 and for achieving all Sustainable Development Goals.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

  • SDG 1: No Poverty
  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 4: Quality Education
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Identified SDG Targets

  1. SDG 1: No Poverty

    • Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable. The article highlights that people in informal settlements are often excluded from “social programmes or budgets” and lack addresses to “receive cash transfers,” indicating a failure to achieve this target for this population.
    • Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services. The article describes an “inescapable cycle of deprivation” and a lack of access to basic services like formal sewage systems, which directly relates to this target.
  2. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

    • Target 2.2: By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age. This target is directly referenced by the statement that children in slums “are also 45 per cent more stunted than their peers as a result of poor nutrition.”
  3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

    • Target 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age. The article points to a critical gap in achieving this target by stating, “Children living in slums or informal settlements are up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday.”
  4. SDG 4: Quality Education

    • Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. The article implies a need for this by describing how the “Mathare community had come together to create a school where their children might just have the chance to break an intergenerational cycle of poverty.”
  5. SDG 5: Gender Equality

    • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. The article directly connects to this target by mentioning that in slums, “Women and girls are more likely to experience gender-based violence.”
  6. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

    • Target 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. The description of Mathare, where “human waste they produce in uncovered rivulets” due to a lack of “formal sewage systems,” directly illustrates the failure to meet this target.
  7. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

    • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. The article’s central theme of “invisibility” — where slum dwellers are “not reflected in policies or budgeting” and are “bypassing them” — speaks directly to a lack of inclusion.
  8. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

    • Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums. This is the most explicitly discussed target. The article states, “Globally, over one billion people live in overcrowded slums or informal settlements with inadequate housing,” and directly mentions that one of the goals “aspires to create sustainable cities and communities.”
  9. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

    • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children. This is identified when the article states that “child exploitation” is more prevalent in these settlements.
    • Target 16.9: By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration. This is implied by the concept of “invisibility,” where Mr. Jobin states, “You’re born from an invisible family, so you become invisible. You don’t exist.” This points to a lack of legal identity.
  10. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

    • Target 17.18: By 2030, significantly increase the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts. The article highlights the failure to meet this target by explaining that people in informal settlements are “often not a part of the national census” and are “invisible in official data.”

Implied and Mentioned Indicators

  1. Target 11.1 (Access to adequate housing and upgrading slums)

    • Indicator: Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements, or inadequate housing.
    • Evidence from article: The article provides several data points for this indicator: “upwards of 500,000 people” in the Mathare slum, “over one billion people live in overcrowded slums or informal settlements” globally, and a projection that this number will “triple to three billion” by 2050.
  2. Target 3.2 (End preventable deaths of children under 5)

    • Indicator: Under-5 mortality rate.
    • Evidence from article: The article provides a comparative statistic: “Children living in slums or informal settlements are up to three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday,” which is a direct measure related to this indicator.
  3. Target 2.2 (End all forms of malnutrition)

    • Indicator: Prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age.
    • Evidence from article: The article directly references this indicator with the statistic that children in slums are “45 per cent more stunted than their peers as a result of poor nutrition.”
  4. Target 6.2 (Access to adequate sanitation)

    • Indicator: Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services.
    • Evidence from article: The article implies a very low value for this indicator by describing the lack of “formal sewage systems” and the presence of “uncovered rivulets” holding “human waste.”
  5. Target 17.18 (Availability of disaggregated data)

    • Indicator: Proportion of countries with a national statistical plan.
    • Evidence from article: Progress is implied to be poor, as the article states that people in informal settlements are “often not a part of the national census” and are “invisible in official data,” indicating a failure in data collection systems.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs Targets Indicators (Mentioned or Implied in Article)
SDG 1: No Poverty 1.3: Implement social protection systems. Proportion of population covered by social protection systems (implied to be low due to exclusion from social programs and lack of addresses for cash transfers).
SDG 2: Zero Hunger 2.2: End all forms of malnutrition. Prevalence of stunting (children in slums are “45 per cent more stunted”).
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being 3.2: End preventable deaths of children under 5. Under-5 mortality rate (children in slums are “up to three times more likely to die”).
SDG 4: Quality Education 4.1: Ensure free, equitable and quality education. Completion rate of primary/secondary education (implied to be low, necessitating a community-created school).
SDG 5: Gender Equality 5.2: Eliminate violence against women and girls. Prevalence of gender-based violence (women and girls are “more likely to experience” it).
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 6.2: Achieve access to adequate sanitation and hygiene. Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services (implied to be near zero due to “uncovered rivulets” of “human waste”).
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities 10.2: Promote social, economic and political inclusion. Proportion of people who feel included (implied to be low as they are “invisible” and “bypassed” by development).
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 11.1: Ensure access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and upgrade slums. Proportion of urban population living in slums (“over one billion people,” projected to be “three billion by 2050”).
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 16.9: Provide legal identity for all. Proportion of children with birth registration (implied to be low as people are “invisible” and “don’t exist” in official records).
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals 17.18: Increase availability of high-quality, reliable data. Inclusion in national census/statistical plans (slum dwellers are “not a part of the national census” and “invisible in official data”).

Source: news.un.org