According to the latest report by the United Nations, more than 300 million people worldwide are homeless, meaning they live without permanent housing. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
Additionally, one in every eight people on the planet is forced to live in informal settlements. This situation highlights the lack of the fundamental human right to safe and adequate housing, which is one of the basic necessities of life.
The housing problem is not only characteristic of developing or low-income countries. For example, in economically developed countries, including the United States, thousands of young families are unable to afford to buy a home.
The rise in rental prices and the lack of steady wage growth are exacerbating this problem. The UN annually celebrates the first Monday of October as “World Habitat Day.”
This date is designated to protect people's right to live in decent housing and to remind about the necessity of sustainable development of cities and settlements. The 2025 Habitat Day will be held under the slogan “Urban Solutions for the Crisis.”
Through this initiative, efforts are being made to find effective solutions to the problems of housing shortages, forced displacement, and homelessness. In his address, UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that more than 123 million people have been forced to leave their homes due to conflicts, political instability, and climate change.
They are moving to densely populated cities and villages in search of safety. According to Guterres, cities play a crucial role in addressing these problems.
Improving infrastructure, expanding affordable housing programs, and strengthening social protection systems should be the main directions. Additionally, a previous UN report noted that 733 million people worldwide suffer from hunger.
Every day, more than one billion servings of edible food are wasted. This amount of food could feed those suffering from hunger at least once.
This highlights the urgent need to take serious measures to reduce food waste and address the problem of hunger.
