BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Traditional housing
finance isn't enough, Executive Director of the United Nations
Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), Anacláudia Rossbach, said
during a dialogue on the topic "The Global Housing Crisis: What's
the Plan?" at the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13),
Trend reports.


"Existing housing finance systems are clearly not working and do
not meet the needs of all segments of society. However, we see
countries developing creative and innovative ways to finance
housing.


We have extensive experience in microfinance, where people
gradually improve their housing conditions through microloans, as
well as through mechanisms based on local community savings," she
said.


Rossbach noted the importance of countries developing their own
housing finance systems, and the mobilization of domestic financial
resources is crucial.


She also said that the housing and climate agendas must work
together.


"The way cities grow and expand today is directly linked to
housing. This applies to housing for the poor and the rich, public
housing, unauthorized housing, formal and informal housing,"
Rossbach added.







The third day of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum
(WUF13) is underway in Baku.


On the first day, a ministerial meeting dedicated to the New
Urban Agenda, a roundtable of ministers, assemblies of women and
civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban
well-being were held. A ceremony for raising the flags of the
United Nations and Azerbaijan also took place within the framework
of the forum.


The second day of the forum drew attention with the first-ever
Leaders Summit. High-level discussions on the global housing
crisis, urbanization policy, and urban resilience were held that
day. At the same time, the Mexico City pavilion was inaugurated
within the framework of WUF13. The pavilion was presented as an
important platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin
American region and preparing for WUF14.


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.