The formal private sector in Lesotho concentrates on housing at the very top of the market leaving the majority unserved by formal housing supply. As in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the great majority of housing in Lesotho is built by people themselves incrementally and sometimes in partnerships with small contractors.The Profile argues that policy interventions should focus on facilitating access to better services and self-construction to enable it to be more efficient without raising its cost.

Similarly, housing built with local materials and labour-intensive technologies has a great potential for building the economic growth looked for in Lesotho's Vision 2020.The Lesotho Housing Profile offers a comprehensive in-depth analysis of the country's urban housing sector. The Profile contributes to the creation of a policy framework that enables provision of adequate housing for all Basotho. It builds a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the urban housing sector that can serve as an authoritative reference point for all actors involved in the direct provision or enablement of housing in Lesotho.

For more than forty years, UN-Habitat has been working in human settlements throughout the world. The efforts of UN-Habitat have been focused on building a brighter future for developing villages, towns and cities of all sizes, which are most in need of support in guiding the process of urbanization. Towards this end we have created a new vision which makes a shift in focus and incorporates three essential urban elements into a new, integrated working methodology: Urban Legislation, Urban Design and Urban Finance, as a three-legged strategy in advancing sustainable urbanization. “Governments want us to promote an integrated approach to planning and building sustainable cities and urban settlements. We are tasked with supporting local authorities, increasing public awareness and enhancing the involvement of local people, including the poor, in decision making.”

What is the Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP)? The Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) is the means to realize the The UN-Habitat Policy and Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Urban and Human Settlements (2014-19). The GEAP has been developed through a consultative process inclusive of UN-Habitat Gender Equality Unit (GEU), UN-Habitat Gender Focal Points (GFPs), and the Advisory Group on Gender Issues (AGGI). It was finally presented at the annual AGGI meeting held during the World Urban Forum (WUF-7) for review and feedback.

The GEAP is guided by the findings and recommendations of the Evaluation of Gender mainstreaming at UN-Habitat (2011) and Gender Mainstreaming Audit and GEAP 2008-2013 review (2012).

This publication is part of the activities of the Global Network for Sustainable Housing (GNSH) managed by the UN-Habitat Housing Unit. The handbook presents practical solutions to outgrow accessibility barriers for persons with disabilities and older persons in the contexts of slum upgrading, reconstruction, large-scale affordable and social housing programmes. 

This handbook aims to bridge the existing gap between the needs and rights of persons with disabilities and older persons with slum upgrading, reconstruction, large-scale affordable and social housing programmes. Through the provision of concepts, major policy approaches, practical information and technical tools, the handbook intends to build capacity regarding designing and implementing accessibility in identified contexts. Likewise, it brings into light the implication and the global importance of developing accessibility of sustainable human settlements.

It is a reality that providing adequate housing to millions of low income households globally and particularly in urban centers is one of the greatest challenges facing present-day society. In Liberia, meeting this challenge would require constructing a new dwelling every five minutes until 2030.

To contribute towards addressing this challenge, the Liberia Housing Profile offers a comprehensive in-depth analysis of the urban housing sector. The Profile contributes to the creation of a framework that enables provision of adequate housing for all. It builds a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the urban housing sector that can serve as an authoritative reference point for all actors involved in the direct provision or enablement of housing in Liberia.

It provides a series of recommendations for policy design to the key stakeholders in the housing delivery system, including prioritized actions necessary for its improvement.