What could happen by 2030?

Something important could happen by 2030. And if we work together, something important will happen by 2030.

In 1985, the United Nations General Assembly set aside the first Monday in October to recognize the basic need for adequate shelter and to encourage all of us to do our part in addressing that need. World Habitat Day provides an important opportunity for us to reflect on the global impact that Habitat has made — and will continue to make in the years ahead.

The 2016 Shelter Report, released today, explores the importance of secure land tenure, especially for women, and provides policy recommendations.

With every house we build, we help a Habitat partner family open the door to a better life. And in addition to using our hammers, we also use our voices to call for sound housing policy around the world.

Most recently, our voices have served to ensure that the global goals that world leaders announced just last month included housing as a top priority. In agreeing to those goals, the vast majority of nations on this planet agreed to end poverty by 2030.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

If the world reaches those global goals, on World Habitat Day 2030, we could be celebrating a world where every last man, woman and child of every age, every race, every creed and every nation has a decent place to live.

We must be diligent and determined over the next 15 years. As our CEO Jonathan Reckford says, Habitat’s message is “clear, concise and unified.” That message contains four simple points:

• Adequate housing is a key factor in breaking the cycle of poverty.
• Adequate housing helps families build strength, stability and self-reliance; positively impacts communities; and spurs economic development.
• Secure tenure — meaning living without fear of eviction — is at the heart of creating affordable housing in many countries.
• Advocating for smart housing policies, including secure tenure, is vital to the ultimate success of our vision.

We are already putting these points into action. Our first-ever global advocacy campaign — called “Solid Ground” — will launch early next year. Like Habitat’s advocacy in general, Solid Ground is a declaration that the lack of decent housing for all is morally and socially unacceptable.

Solid Ground will focus on slum upgrading, secure tenure, disaster resilience and gender equality in accessing land for shelter. Our work will mobilize new and existing allies to motivate policymakers around the world to enact and implement policies and systems that advance access to land for shelter.

Take a moment to learn more about Solid Ground. Use your voice this World Habitat Day to call on governments to keep the promises of the global goals. And keep using your hammer and your voice every day until — together — we realize a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

— Piper Hendricks, director of advocacy communications, Habitat for Humanity International