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.

Learn how Habitat is making a difference