The Extent of Homelessness in the Middle East and North Africa Region: A Scoping Review

Abstract

While the right to housing is a fundamental right per article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ‘homelessness’ is still generally a Western concept and not comprehensively recognized or addressed as a social issue in many countries, including many within the Middle East and North Africa. This paper looked at the literature on homelessness in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to document the meaning and scope of homelessness within this region. After identifying and screening the relevant articles, 103 eligible articles were included in the final data synthesis stage. What we have learned from the review is organized in three categories: 1) conceptualizations of homelessness, 2) proposed responses to homelessness, and 3) research gaps. Studies addressing homelessness experienced by women, elderly, and family were underrepresented or did not exist. Homelessness among children dominates the literature in this review with 62% studies investigated the issue of homelessness in childhood. In a way, children are prioritized yet their adult relatives are often left invisible. Responding to the issue of homelessness on a global scale first involves having effective definitions that both properly enumerate and contextualize the issue. Without establishing a comprehensive definition of homelessness, efforts to address housing precarity can be ineffective.