UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The UN economic and social chief on Monday called on the international community to redouble efforts to rid "the world of this inhumane scourge that is homelessness."
At the Commission for Social Development second plenary meeting, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin highlighted some "inclusive and practical steps in this regard."
Liu urged countries to provide adequate, accessible and affordable housing, quality services, schools and health care, decent jobs and livelihoods, to help rebuild lives.
In many countries, the supply of adequate and affordable housing is also failing to keep up with demand, Liu said. "According to UN-Habitat, 1.6 billion people live in inadequate housing conditions, with about 15 million forcefully evicted every year. Further, housing has been largely unaffordable for most of the world's population over the last 20 years."
He also called for expansion of social protection systems to prevent people falling into homelessness due to shocks related to illness and job loss, and adoption of climate change mitigation measures as well as measures to strengthen peace and security to build safe and accessible neighborhoods.
He added that effectively addressing homelessness requires adequate policies and partnerships of governments, civil society and faith-based organizations, philanthropic organizations, financial institutions and the private sector, and homeless people themselves.
