G7 Summit falls short on aid and housing: New research underscores urgent need for global investment in housing and health
ATLANTA (June 18, 2025) — As the 2025 G7 Summit concludes in Kananaskis, Canada, Habitat for Humanity is deeply concerned by the omission of housing from the Summit’s agenda and the continued erosion of Official Development Assistance. Despite the Summit’s emphasis on economic growth, resilience and global security, the absence of concrete commitments to address the global housing crisis, both at home and abroad, is a missed opportunity with profound human development consequences.
Habitat for Humanity underscores the growing strain that inadequate, unaffordable housing places on the economic stability and well-being of people worldwide. Recent data from the Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey reveals that housing is now the top concern for European cities, with 1 in 6 mayors identifying it as their most pressing challenge. In Canada, the host nation of this year’s G7, the situation is equally challenging. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, housing affordability has worsened in Canada more than any other G7 country. In the United States, 21.5 million households are devoting more than half of their income to housing.
These domestic challenges for G7 countries mirror an even greater need for increased investment in adequate housing globally, particularly through Official Development Assistance aimed at the world’s most vulnerable communities. Evidence shows that investing in housing at scale, particularly in informal settlements, can unlock economic growth resulting in an up to 10.5% increase in gross domestic product. Yet less than 1% of G7 foreign assistance has been directed toward housing in vulnerable communities. This underinvestment is not only a development failure, but also a public health crisis. Habitat for Humanity’s new research, “Informal Settlement Improvements and Women’s Health,” reveals that inadequate housing is directly linked to poorer health outcomes for women and girls, including increased exposure to gender-based violence, chronic illness and maternal health risks.
“While the G7 grapples with competing priorities, we know that at the end of the day, everyone needs to go back to a safe place to call home,” said Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer at Habitat for Humanity International. “We cannot build resilient economies, address global health needs or achieve gender equity without investing in adequate housing. Our research shows that, for families around the world, access to adequate housing equals health, safety and hope.”
This week’s Summit also failed to reverse the trend of declining foreign assistance across G7 nations. This retreat from global solidarity undermines decades of progress and leaves the most vulnerable behind. As the G7 aims to support economic growth, infrastructure investment and resilience to disasters, it is imperative to recommit to international aid and recognize housing not as a secondary concern, but as a cornerstone of sustainable development.
Immediately following the Summit, Habitat for Humanity urges G7 leaders to:
- Reverse aid cuts and recommit to foreign assistance as a critical driver of stability, economic growth and well-being.
- Prioritize housing as a foundation of global development — both in domestic policy and foreign assistance — through coherent action across G7 urban, health and international development portfolios.
- Commit Official Development Assistance resources to improved housing and informal settlement upgrading to best support the development of and investment in low-income countries. Prioritizing these areas can drive transformational change and improve the well-being of vulnerable populations.
About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.