G20 Favelas: Communiqué

Over one billion people live in favelas and informal settlements worldwide (UN-Habitat, 2022). In Brazil, favelas are home to about 17.1 million people living in over 5 million households distributed in more than 13,100 communities (Data Favela, 2022; IBGE, 2020). Rapid urbanisation, ineffective planning and lack of affordable housing are key drivers of these numbers, especially in the Global South. If the current trend is not reversed, the future of cities will be marked by what UN-HABITAT calls ‘mega slums’, where residents will experience multiple deprivations, which will prevent socioeconomic mobility and a better urban future. Lack of infrastructure and basic urban services, including insufficient access to water and sanitation, continue to drive multidimensional poverty in the favelas, impacting, in particular, women and children. In addition to all these factors, favela dwellers face unemployment, food insecurity, poor health, risk of eviction and stigmatisation.