Ms Jeannie McCann:

Habitat for Humanity believes that everyone is equal rather than some people being regarded as disadvantaged. We know we can never solve the situation of 1.6 billion people living in poor housing by just building or renovating houses or even by sending volunteers; the situation requires many different housing interventions. We can serve many more families by influencing policy. Our global colleagues in Habitat International recently conducted a survey across the 70 countries in which Habitat works. It asked each country to name the biggest obstacles in implementing the programmes. By far the biggest obstacle was land tenure and the securing of land. An example of where Habitat has worked to positively influence land tenure is in Haiti. After the earthquake there was widespread devastation and millions of people were displaced, lost their homes and their lives were shattered. However, the earthquake did not just cause a disaster, it revealed one. The country had no building codes and land policies were very blurred. The Ministry responsible for land was destroyed by the earthquake so all the title deeds of land ownership were destroyed and chaos ensued. Habitat led a coalition of partners that included other NGOs, UN Habitat and many funding organisations and governments, including the United States and French Governments. The coalition was an attempt to define the process of how land can be secured and how those policies were to be put in place. To date, several manuals have been compiled in French, English and Creole to help local people understand how to secure land and to clarify how land can be secured.

In Zambia our programme is supported by Irish Aid and security of tenure is one of the key objectives of the programme. Habitat does not build houses on land that the homeowner cannot own. In Ethiopia and in Zambia there are many problems to do with traditional norms. For example, women are excluded from owning land and may not know their rights. We put in a lot of work in advocating so that women are aware of their rights and they cannot be evicted on the death of a husband.

Our colleagues in Habitat International work very closely with UN Habitat. We are involved with the working group on post-2015 currently meeting to include shelter as a measurable explicit link in the post-2015 development agenda. It was only mentioned as a small target in the previous millennium development goals which was to decrease the number of slum-dwellers by 100 million but the reality is that slums continue to grow. That target was not relevant.

Habitat regards its work as being part of the solution, not all of the solution. We are very committed to working with other partners to ensure that the solution is holistic. This means working with partners in Zambia on GOAL feeding programmes or with partners in Ethiopia to deliver eco stoves so that families can have better health.

Mr. Abebe will answer the question about the benefits and challenges of working with the Government of Ethiopia.