Anacláudia Rossbach: WUF13 to be held at crucial time for urban development

The 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) will take place at an extremely important time, where future steps in urban development will be agreed upon, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN-Habitat, Anacláudia Rossbach, stated during a briefing held within the 13th Global Baku Forum on March 14, Report informs.

Rossbach emphasized that ministers responsible for housing and urban development will gather in Baku at WUF13 to review progress made and determine next steps.

"The World Urban Forum will be held just a few months before member states review the implementation of the New Urban Agenda at the UN General Assembly in New York. In Baku, we will bring together ministers responsible for housing and urban development to discuss achievements and set future priorities. This year, New York will also host the review of Sustainable Development Goal 11, dedicated to sustainable cities and communities. We are deeply concerned about indicator 11.1, which addresses housing affordability and informal settlements. This issue will also be discussed here in Baku, as we remain far from achieving SDG 11 targets," she said.

Rossbach noted that the world is currently facing a severe housing crisis:

"Today, a large number of people live in extremely vulnerable and unstable conditions. Our estimates show that around 300 million people are homeless, while more than 1 billion live in informal settlements or slums without access to clean water, basic infrastructure, or essential services such as healthcare, education, urban facilities, and jobs. According to our estimates, nearly half of the planet's population-about 3 billion people-live in inadequate housing conditions today," she added.