Access to adequate housing is a fundamental human right and is enshrined in numerous international agreements and conventions. Yet millions of women and men continue to live in towns and cities without security of tenure and with inadequate housing and related services. This guide’s objectives are:

• To increase understanding of gender concerns and needs in housing and slum upgrading 
• To develop capacity to address gender issues in this area 
• To encourage the integration of a gender perspective into policies, projects, and programmes for sustainable urban development 
• To support the institutionalization of the culture of gender mainstreaming and gender equality, the implementation of gender-sensitive projects and programmes, and the monitoring of gender-mainstreaming progress.

Kisumu is Kenya's third largest city and is located in the Western Highlands on Lake Victoria. Kisumu's status as a stronghold of the opposition has negatively impacted its development, as the area was largely neglected until the emergence of multi party democracy in Kenya.

Despite its rich resource base, Kisumu is one of the poorest cities in Kenya and food insecurity, growing urban poverty and the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS are key concerns.

This document is an internal Nepal country impact study of initiatives supported by UN-HABITAT’s Water and Sanitation Trust Fund (WSTF) undertaken by a team of international consultants. The objective of the WSTF is to bring in new investment and ideas, expand service coverage for poor urban dwellers, and help build momentum for achieving the MDGs. UN-HABITAT is a newcomer to the Urban WATSAN sector in Nepal, but has managed to establish itself as a notable development partner in this field. UNHABITAT’s comparative advantage is its focus on the complex problem of the urban poor, the ability to integrate WSS approaches across the urban sector, and community involvement from the outset of the project.

This report provides a comprehensive review of the challenges for low and moderate income housing. It focuses on the issues of affordability, accessibility and sustainability in resolving the housing problem. It looks at both formal and informal instruments and how experiences in developed countries and instruments in addressing middle income households can help inspire solutions for low and moderate income housing.

The report examines a whole range of major instruments and experiences across the developing and developed worlds. It will provide inspirations for governments, local authorities, partners, private sectors and civil society in their pursuit of innovative instruments to meet the challenges of affordability, accessibility and sustainability in realising the vision of “adequate shelter for all”.