Gabonese minister: WUF13 urges action on safe housing

The provision of secure housing discussed at the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) is a call for mobilization, Gabon's Minister of Housing, Urbanism, and Land Registry Mays Lloyd Mouissi said at the ministerial roundtable held within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.

Report quotes him as saying "Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities" discussed today at WUF13, is a call for mobilization in the face of climate-related emergencies:

"Housing should not be a problem for the population, but a means of development. The world is facing a housing crisis. Currently, the living conditions of more than 3 billion people are poor and more than 300 million people are homeless. This problem has been further deepened by the energy crisis. According to estimates, 600 million people still live without electricity today. Gabon is also vulnerable to this situation. Our country faces strong demographic pressure and serious structural deficiencies, particularly in urban areas. Population growth makes access to housing and the provision of basic services even more difficult. Problems such as floods and other natural disasters further aggravate the situation. Land rights and sustainability are among the important issues."

The minister stated that the Gabonese government has currently made the modernization of land policy a priority:

"We have established a special fund to support the housing sector. Investments are carried out through public-private partnerships. Currently, thousands of housing units are being built, and some of them have already been put into use across the country."

The Gabonese official concluded by thanking Azerbaijan for organizing WUF13.