In the majority of the developing countries of the Pacific islands, a high proportion of people live in inadequate housing, severely limiting prospects for economic and social development. Over 40 percent of the population of these nations 4 million people live in poverty housing in towns and cities, squatter settlements, and rural villages. These countries are hugely diverse in terms of geography, resources, populations, cultures, languages, and economic development. Nevertheless, they share many of the same challenges. Small domestic markets and limited economic growth and increasing poverty and declining living standards. The rapidly increasing populations and high rates of rural-to-urban migration.  Growing squatter settlements in urban and peri-urban areas. The poor infrastructure and housing regulatory mechanisms. The land conflicts and ethnic tensions and limited land resources and poor management of resources and extreme vulnerability to natural disasters.

While Pacific island nations receive substantial development assistance, governments and communities cannot keep pace with the increasing number of households living in inadequate housing. Keys to successfully addressing the problems of inadequate housing include recognizing that squatter settlements are permanent and require basic infrastructure and social services, integrating housing with improvements in basic infrastructure, including access to safe drinking water, improved sanitation, solid waste management, affordable and reliable electricity, and all-weather roads, balancing assistance between rural and urban areas to help stem the flow of people to urban areas and the slow depopulation of rural communities and to identifying safe and suitable land for housing for poor and low-income households, coordinating urban planning and embarking on land reform to establish a system of secure land title.

Acceptance of the universal right to “adequate housing”  a place to live in peace and dignity _ has proved to be a powerful catalyst for economic and social development. The United Nations International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes that adequate housing is fundamental to improving living standards among poor and low-income households. Without adequate shelter, families are condemned to poverty, poor health and low educational attainment. Without adequate shelter, families lack security and are vulnerable to natural disasters and the chaos of civil conflict. Adequate housing can be viewed as a valuable goal in its own right and as a critical ingredient in addressing the broader challenges of poverty