Home is the foundation on which we build our lives.
But every day 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe affordable housing.
We’re working to change that. We know safe, affordable housing sparks wider change, leading to better health, education and well-being, more economic growth, and less poverty.
That’s why we have helped people around the world build, improve or finance places to call home for more than 50 years. Together with supporters like you, we’ve built a mission — and a movement.
Now, we’re building on that momentum. Through hands-on builds, pop-up exhibits, compelling new research and powerful storytelling, we’re bringing housing to the center stage at a global scale.
Because housing matters. With safe, stable homes, families have the freedom to focus on what matters most, empowering them to build their future on their own terms.
It all starts with an open door.
What is the full cost of home?
From financial stress to missed opportunities, housing pressure affects nearly every aspect of life. Explore Home at What Cost?, Habitat’s new global housing report, to uncover the hidden costs of housing shaping people’s well-being, safety and future plans.
Did you know?
Across Africa:
Women trail men by 23% in individual land ownership.
238 million people live in overcrowded and unsafe informal settlements in the sub-Saharan region.
56 million more homes are needed urgently.
Many families live in homes that are poorly ventilated. Homes built without durable materials crumble under the pressure of changing climate, demanding constant repair while bare mud floors harbour parasites that impact the health and dignity of the families living in them. These are not isolated problems. The connection between inadequate housing and poor health is direct, documented but too often overlooked.
For Mary, a mother and grandmother living in Makululu, an informal settlement in Zambia, the sound of rain once brought fear.
Through a Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project funded by BMZ, Habitat for Humanity Zambia partnered with residents and local government to transform access to essential services in the area.
For 40 years, Habitat for Humanity Tanzania has worked alongside multiple partners including communities, government, donors, civil society and the private sector to open doors to decent housing for more families in Tanzania. On September 30, these partners came together in Dar es Salaam to celebrate four decades of impact and look ahead to the next chapter of transforming lives through housing.
In July 2024, a devastating landslide struck Kencho Shacha Woyza Kebele in Ethiopia’s Gofa Zone, claiming lives and destroying homes and essential infrastructure. Habitat for Humanity Ethiopia joined the recovery effort in Burda resettlement village, working alongside communities, government authorities and partners on housing, water and hygiene interventions.
For thousands of coastal families in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, a safe home depends not only on strong walls and roofs, but also on healthy mangrove ecosystems. To mark World Mangrove Day, Habitat for Humanity joined partners including UN-Habitat Côte d’Ivoire and ActionAid Ghana alongside communities to launch large-scale mangrove restoration activities under the Improved Resilience of Coastal Communities Project, supported by the Adaptation Fund.
In 2023, Cyclone Freddy southern swept through southern Malawi, causing floods and landslides that displaced thousands of families overnight and destroyed the homes of entire communities. Alongside community leaders, Habitat Malawi began recovery efforts to rebuild safe, permanent homes.
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Over the past 50 years, we have helped more than 65 million people around the world build, improve or finance places to call home. Now, we’re building on that momentum.
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Behind every open door is a story. As we build on fifty years of making home possible, we’re highlighting some of the people and innovations at the heart of our mission.