BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 22. A comprehensive rethinking of the entire value chain in housing finance is urgently required, according to the Baku Call to Action, the official final document of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Trend reports.
"Housing finance systems remain fragmented, uncoordinated and inaccessible, with limited public investment, unequal access to credit and mechanisms that fail to reach low-income households and communities. We call for the reimagining of housing finance value chain to prioritize inclusion and scale by strengthening municipal finance with a focus on fiscal autonomy and revenue generation strategies," the document states.
The signatories urge development banks and the private sector to prioritize expanding access to credit and establishing predictable, long-term financial frameworks tied to the territory and accessible to those who need them most.
"We call on development banks and the private sector to prioritize access to credit and establish predictable, long-term financing frameworks that are territorially grounded and accessible to those most in need. We encourage the private sector to partner with national and local governments, central banks, financial institutions and organized community savings to pioneer new ways to calculate and manage risk, target subsidies, expand access to credit and blend finance. We encourage Parliamentarians and national treasury to diversify government subsidies to cater to diversity of housing approaches, drawing in private and community-led savings," the Baku Call to Action reads.
The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) was held in Baku from May 17 to May 22.
Convened by UN-Habitat and co-organized with the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, WUF13 was held under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities”.
The Forum hosted 579 sessions throughout the week, while the Urban Expo brought together 260 exhibitors, innovators and solution providers. WUF13 featured 11 heads of state, 9 high-level guests, 88 ministers and 76 deputy ministers, and 130 mayors, alongside representatives of international organizations, financial institutions, academia, civil society and grassroots organizations.
