More than 500 housing experts from at least 25 countries in Africa have come together in Nairobi for Habitat for Humanity’s first-ever Africa Housing Forum, advocating for innovative and inclusive approaches to solve housing challenges.
The experts observed that Kenya has an annual housing demand of 250,000 units but an estimated supply of only 50,000 and called for urgent sustainable solutions that don’t leave vulnerable groups behind during the forum, which runs through Saturday.
Organized by Habitat for Humanity in collaboration with partners that include UN-HABITAT, the three-day event is part of a global series of regional housing forums where housing experts, policymakers, industry leaders, international non-profits, multilateral organizations, and other major stakeholders engage collaboratively to promote affordable housing.
Participants shared perspectives not only on a decent home as something everyone should have access to in Africa but also how affordable housing brings with it so many other benefits, as a driver of economic growth, a key to safety and security and as the continent has learned during the COVID-19 pandemic a fundamental part of a family’s health
Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary James Macharia in a speech read on his behalf by Director Housing and Urban Development Jane Mwangi said that Kenya is working with the private sector to make affordable housing projects work well for the benefit of its citizens.
“I call upon the public and private sectors to work cohesively, adopt and implement affordable housing solutions for marginalized communities to enhance the quality of life for humanity,” said Macharia.
In his opening speech, UN-HABITAT Director Regional Office for Africa Oumar Sylla said scaling up affordable housing provision has the potential to contribute to national economies, create jobs, improve the construction industry, and improve the living conditions for the health and wellbeing of all Africans.
“The provision of affordable land and housing at scale remains a challenge to most countries, especially those in Africa. While the continent is the most rural region in the world, it is urbanising fast, straining affordable urban land and housing provision in the coming decades,” said Sylla.
He said the housing deficit spares few countries in Africa and that lack of adequate housing affects 14 to 16 million people in Nigeria while South Africa’s housing shortage is approximately 3.7 million units with Ghana sitting at 1.7 million units, with the cost of closing the gap estimated at more than US$50 billion.
Habitat for Humanity’s Vice President for Africa Maurice Makoloo said that Habitat for Humanity continues to focus on raising the awareness within the affordable housing ecosystem in Africa, especially for marginalized communities seeking to improve their living conditions.
“It is critical to recognise housing as a human right,” he said adding that the protection of the human right to housing should always be a priority placed above the use of housing as a commodity.
He said the forum in future would help address the large gaps in affordable housing in Africa.
Makoloo added that the forum would also see the launch of Habitat’s ShelterTech sub-Saharan Africa accelerator program which would bring together the most disruptive start-ups and scaleup addressing today’s affordable housing challenges.
ShelterTech, Makoloo said is the world’s leading platform for affordable housing innovation, working across sectors, industries and geographies to support and grow cutting-edge products and services that can improve housing conditions for low-income families. Since its first accelerator program in 2017, the platform has already supported more than 70 start-ups worldwide.
The Africa Housing Forum is supported by the Hilti Foundation, the European Union, and the Somfy Foundation. It is the fourth such event held around the world over the past year.
