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Homelessness is a global challenge.

The United Nations Human Settlements Program estimates that 1.1 billion people live in inadequate housing, and the best data available suggest that more than 100 million people have no housing at all.

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The IGH Newsletter

This newsletter shares information about homelessness advocacy events and resources from experts from various regions.

The IGH Newsletter

Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH)

In this newsletter, IGH discusses and shares resources that can help you navigate the important intersection between homelessness and humanitarian aid and true partnership with people and communities who are most affected by homelessness.

Solving Global Homelessness: Accessibility, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH)

This newsletter highlights IGH's recent efforts to drive an equitable end to global homelessness.

Homelessness and Sustainable Development

In our June newsletter, we discuss how Issues of land use, access, and rights intersect with homelessness and equitable prevention strategies.

Global Homelessness Advocacy at the United Nations

In our latest newsletter, we discuss our recent trip to New York City, USA, for global homelessness advocacy with partners from around the world, how to meaningfully work alongside people with lived experience, and more.

Collaborative Approaches to Address Homelessness During COVID-19

This newsletter features resources that help practitioners deliver housing and support services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facing Homelessness: Finding Inclusionary, Collaborative Solutions

This book contributes to an emerging body of knowledge on street homelessness in the South African context. It is meant for researchers and scholars who are committed to finding solutions for street homelessness. It offers conceptual frameworks and practical guidelines for a transformative response to homelessness. It brings together authors from a wide range of disciplines, fusing the rigor of researchers, the vision of...

World Homeless Day 2021

This month’s issue highlights various initiatives and organizations addressing homelessness throughout the world.

Global Coronavirus Resources and Guidance For Homeless Services

OVERVIEW To support your efforts in protecting people experiencing homelessness from the coronavirus and in response preparations, we have collected some guidance and resources from around the world. The coronavirus guidance points to the establishment of links to local health departments, increased communication, and a focus on preparedness. We recognize that these resources are heavily sourced from the United States, so if...

Livelihood Impacts of Displacement and Resettlement on Informal Households - A case study from Kigali, Rwanda

Alice Nikuze

Richard Sliuzas

Johannes Flacke

Martin van Maarseveen

Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa are undergoing massive socio-spatial transformations. Many old inner-city neighborhoods are being demolished to give way to modern commercial and residential developments, and generally, to a more modern living environment. These ambitions often lead to displacement and resettlement projects that affect the livelihoods of millions of people, including many from informal settlements. Given the...

Review of the Housing Policies and Programmes in Nigeria

Aminu Bello

This research paper reviews housing policies and programs in Nigeria. The recorded history of formal intervention into the housing sector in Nigeria dates back to the colonial administration, after the outbreak of the bubonic plaque of 1928 in Lagos. This necessitated the establishment of the Lagos Executive Development Board (LEDB), signifying the beginning of Nigerian public housing programs intervention during the...

Homeless in Observatory, Cape Town through the lens of Max-Neef's Fundamental Human Needs Taxonomy

The aim of this article is to explain the profile of homeless in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa using Max-Neef's fundamental human needs taxonomy. The level of homelessness on the streets of South Africa is regarded as a slow-moving tragedy. This article highlights the complexity of the lives of the homeless and complex and holistic efforts to end homelessness.

Uganda’s Response to Street Children: Investigating the Validity and Impact of the Kamparingisa National Rehabilitation Centre (KNRC) in Working with Street Children in Uganda

Ann Bett

Martin Kabanda

Shannon Russell

Street children have become a worldwide phenomenon and often solutions seem either to be short-sighted or instituted for alternative reasons besides the welfare of children. However, the world is slowly waking to the fact that there are consequences beyond human suffering to turning a blind eye to street children. Uganda has moved forward with a plan to get children off of the streets, rehabilitated and repatriated. This plan...

The role of NGOs’ service delivery experience in developing relevant research agendas: experience and challenges among NGOs in Malawi

Kate Gooding

There has been growing interest in the contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to international health research. One strength that NGOs may bring to research involves the potential value of service delivery experience for indicating relevant research questions, namely through their involvement in service delivery, NGO staff may be aware of frontline knowledge gaps, allowing these staff to identify questions that...

State-Civil Society Partnerships For Policy Advocacy And Implementation In Developing Countries

Derick Brinkerhoff

The focus of this paper is on the partnership mode of interaction between the public sector and the private and non-governmental sectors. The paper examines cases of policy implementation where governments and civil society groups/NGOs are jointly involved, and offers some preliminary lessons relating to: situational variables that constrain/facilitate state-civil partnerships, mechanisms that support collaboration, and the...

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Inhalant and Other Substance Use Among Street Boys in Kisumu, Kenya

Colette Auerswald

Ariella Sara Goldblatt

Zachary A. Kwena

Jessica Lin

Kawango Agot

Elizabeth Anne Bukusi

Street children and youth are at increased risk for substance use, particularly inhalant use. Due in part to their marginalized status, there are sparse quantitative data available about the prevalence and risk factors for substance use of street children and youth in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of substance use among street children in Kisumu, Kenya and their correlation with...

Women's Land Rights as a Pathway to Poverty Reduction: Framework and Review of Available Evidence

This paper reviews the literature on women’s land rights (WLR) and poverty reduction. It uses the Gender, Agriculture and Assets Project (GAAP) conceptual framework to identify pathways by which WLR could reduce poverty and increase wellbeing of women and their households in rural areas. Researchers found that evidence is strong for relationships between WLR and bargaining power and decision-making on consumption, human...

Working with street children

Working with Street Children is intended particularly for street children educators, social educators, child rehabilitation project managers, those in charge of the law and the representatives of urban public order. It hopes to reply to the need for dialogue expressed in a questionnaire sent in 1991 to some 180 project managers throughout Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It gathers information on education and the way that it...

Research Planning for Global Poverty and Homelessness Policies and Services: A Case Study of a Joint Canadian-South Africa Initiative

S. Richter

K. Kovacs Burns

A.D.H. Botha

Global poverty, homelessness and health-related issues require both international and country-specific research to explore best collaborative approaches, determine relevant global health services and policy research questions, and explore how collaborative partnerships and research can be applied in practice with people who are homeless. A workshop was organized in South Africa with Canadian and South African researchers, non...

Global Research Challenges And Opportunities For Mental Health And Substance-Use Disorders

The research agenda for global mental health and substance-use disorders has been largely driven by the exigencies of high health burdens and associated unmet needs in low- and middle-income countries. Implementation research focused on context-driven adaptation and innovation in service delivery has begun to yield promising results that are improving the quality of, and access to, care in low-resource settings. Importantly,...

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