Development Ratings

Homeless International (HI) was registered in 1993 to address the poverty caused by homelessness and inadequate housing. More than half the world’s population lives in urban areas. In developing countries, around half of city inhabitants are slum dwellers. Not only is homelessness against the basic human rights of every individual to a safe and secure home, but it is unsanitary, undermines physical and mental health, and can cause social unrest. It restricts the capacity of slum dwellers to achieve self- and community-development. Slum urbanisation reinforces inequality and exclusion, and undermines progress towards the MDGs.

With the exception of small-scale micro-finance lending, financial institutions are often unwilling to extend loans to the poor. They are particularly unlikely to make loans of the size required for construction. In addition, loans to poor individuals can have extremely high interest rates, and greater risk of default and early foreclosure. Not only do the poor not have access to loans, but there is inevitably a lack of collateral and financial guarantees. Default risks are lower when loans are made to groups (as in micro-finance), and when guarantees are used.

Major international charity, Habitat for Humanity, builds houses in Ghana, Malawi, India and Zambia. It is not clear how many people are housed from published data. There are huge housing deficits in target countries.