UN-Habitat chief calls for stronger private investment in affordable housing
Public sovereign funding alone remains entirely insufficient to overcome the global housing crisis, rendering it imperative for nations to actively incentivize and channel private capital into the affordable housing sector.
This was said by Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), CE Report informs via Trend News Agency.
She made the remarks during a session titled "A New Deal for Housing Finance" held within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.
According to her, public expenditure allocated toward the housing sector across numerous countries—particularly within developing economies—stagnates at approximately 1% of GDP or less, creating a severe mismatch with the actual scale of the ongoing crisis. "This fiscal baseline remains completely inadequate to systematically resolve the housing crisis," Rossbach emphasized.
She underscored the critical necessity of engineering favorable structural conditions to attract private investments into municipal real estate grids. "We must formulate concrete pathways to mobilize private capital and systematically pull private sector financing pipelines into the housing ecosystem," the UN-Habitat Executive Director stated.
To achieve this, Rossbach noted that governments must deploy clear and predictable regulatory mechanisms, robust incentive frameworks, and targeted risk-mitigation toolkits for businesses operating within the affordable housing segment. She concurrently reiterated the vital importance of expanding domestic financial architecture.
"We cannot rely solely on international loans or multilateral development assistance. International cooperation can effectively function as seed capital, provide technical assistance, and support institutional policy design; however, the long-term resilience of a housing finance system relies fundamentally on domestic resources," she pointed out.
The head of UN-Habitat noted that the core sustainability of any housing infrastructure network hinges directly upon national fiscal budgets, localized capital markets, and the mobilization of domestic savings loops. Underpinning all of these factors, she added, remains the presence of strong, transparent public institutions capable of managing these resources efficiently.
"This is not merely a question of liquid capital, but rather how these funds undergo management, what specific rules govern the marketplace, and how to build an ecosystem resilient over the long term," Rossbach concluded, adding that this institutional capacity building stands as one of the primary hurdles currently confronting many sovereign states.
Today marks the fifth day of WUF13 in Baku.
The first day included a ministerial meeting dedicated to the New Urban Agenda, a ministerial roundtable, assemblies for women and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban prosperity. An official ceremony marking the raising of the UN and Azerbaijani flags also took place.
The second day stood out for the inaugural Leaders' Summit, featuring high-level discussions on the global housing crisis, urbanization policy, and urban resilience. Concurrently, the opening of the Mexico City pavilion took place, serving as a significant platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin American region and preparing for WUF14.
The third day of WUF13 featured a comprehensive program of events covering the global housing crisis, the formation of safe and inclusive cities, climate resilience, artificial intelligence and urban governance, green urbanization, social equity, and sustainable transport.
One of the highlights of the third day was the signing of a sister-city memorandum between the Azerbaijani city of Shusha and the Turkish city of Trabzon.
The fourth day of WUF13 featured a broad program of events dedicated to urbanization, climate change, inclusive urban development, housing policy, and sustainable governance.
One of the important events of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) Cities Forum, held on the fourth day, was the announcement of Almaty’s official accession to the “Declaration of Intent on the Establishment of the SPECA Smart Climate-Resilient Cities Forum.”
Also, for the first time in WUF history and at Azerbaijan’s initiative, the “WUF13 NGO Forum: Global Partnership and Decision-Making” was held.
WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” the forum brings together governments, international organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development.
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