19 March 2002, Monterrey/Nairobi: Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, supported the call of Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for increased financing for development and emphasized the urgent need for more international and national resources to be made available for housing finance for the urban poor and the homeless. Mrs. Tibaijuka spoke at a joint press conference with His Worship, Mr. Felipe De Jesus Cantu Rodriguez, Mayor of Monterrey, after visiting the low-income neighbourhood of "La Alianza" northwest of the City of Monterrrey accompanied by the Mayor and his chief officers.

Mrs. Tibaijuka was attending the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, 10-22 March 2002. She noted that "in many countries of the developing world, there are no mechanisms to financially support an individual's basic desire to be a home owner," said Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka. "This international conference gives us the opportunity to reflect on how best to help ordinary citizens to save and invest in their own houses and homes."

Over 80 percent of housing in developing countries is financed incrementally by personal or family savings. This is because the institutional housing finance system is generally very weak, with poor asset portfolio and illiquid mortgage instruments. It offers little credit solutions to the housing needs of the large proportion of the population. The prevailing absence of housing financing has generally reflected negatively on the quality of housing. This situation urgently needs to be improved through the strengthening of the institutions of housing finance.

Mayor Felipe Cantu Rodriguez underlined the importance of cooperation between the municipal, the central/federal government and the private sector, including community organizations in pooling financial and other resources for improving shelter and living conditions of those with low incomes. The Mayor pointed out ways in which the City of Monterrey was working to establish the kind of partnership to help fund housing for the poor.

The UN Millennium Summit Declaration together with the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium have called for a concerted attack on the scourge of urban poverty with the specific target of supporting the improvement in the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. This goal is of particular relevance to the Conference on Financing for Development and UN-HABITAT is committed to improving the housing situation of the urban poor.

One of the steps that is being undertaken by the UN Human Settlements Programme is to strengthen the UN-HABITAT Foundation as a global source of seed capital for public sector investment in housing and infrastructure development, focusing on the needs of poor people in poor cities. It is envisaged that the Foundation, operating as part of UN-HABITAT, or semi-autonomously, would offer a range of products, including loans, equity, guarantees and grants. The Foundation would also seek to leverage sub-national and city-based financial resources. However, to meet its goals, the Foundation will require the mobilization of significant amounts of financial resources, both domestic and international.

"Improving the conditions of the urban poor involves many different elements that includes investing in the physical and social infrastructures that make our cities, towns and villages livable," said Mrs. Tibaijuka. "UN-HABITAT is committed to working on all aspects of urban renewal, however, we feel there is an urgent need to create opportunities for development-oriented investment in housing and especially in the area of mortgage finance. If given the opportunity, the poor are willing to participate in the improvement of their living environment and they are eager to invest in their own houses and homes."

Mrs. Tibaijuka also stressed these issues in her address to the Plenary Session of the Conference and at the Parallel Dialogue on Sustainable Financing of the Housing Finance System, which was organized by UN-HABITAT.

For further information, please contact:

For further information, please contact:
Mr. Sharad Shankardass, Spokesperson
or Ms. Zahra A. Hassan
Media & Press Relations Unit
UN-HABITAT
Tel: (254 2) 623153
Fax: (254 2) 624060
E-mail: habitat.press@unhabitat.org
Website: www.unhabitat.org