Healthy housing for a sustainable and equitable future – the WHO Housing and health guidelines
Following the requests from a number of Member States and recognizing the increasing importance of housing to health due to demographic and climate changes, WHO has developed the first guidelines on housing and health. The WHO Housing and health guidelines provide global, evidence-based recommendations on how to improve housing conditions.
“The quality of housing has major implications for people’s health. Housing in cities is of particular concern, with the world’s urban population predicted to double by 2050 and, with it, the demand for housing. Raising housing standards is therefore a key pathway for providing healthy housing conditions and improving health and well-being for all”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization.
Based on the best available evidence, the WHO Housing and health guidelines provide new guidance relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon.
Housing as a major entry point for intersectoral public health programmes and primary prevention
“The scientific evidence on the many links between housing and health has grown substantially in recent decades. This evidence can be used to guide ‘primary preventive’ measures related to housing construction, renovation, use and maintenance, which can promote better overall health”, said Dr Maria Neira, Director of WHO’s Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.
The WHO Housing and health guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. They aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines’ implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national priorities and contexts to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.
Source:who.int/
