Habitat for Humanity’s first ever Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Housing Forum

Cairo will host Habitat for Humanity’s first edition of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Housing Forum, November 21-23, 2022. The three-day event will convene housing contributors and stakeholders from the public and private sectors, advocates, academics, researchers, microfinance experts and representatives from local and international NGOS from the MENA region. 

The MENA forum follows the success of Habitat for Humanity’s  housing forums for Latin America and the Caribbean (May, 2021), Europe (November,2021), Asia & the Pacific region (December, 2021) as well as Africa (May, 2022),and is designed to initiate aregion-wide dialogue on sustainable and inclusive housing for all.

Habitat’s Vice President for Europe and the Middle East, Rick Hathaway said:

“Habitat hasbeen supporting vulnerable communities in Egypt since 1989 with our programming responding to the varying housing challenges through shelter rehabilitations and microfinancing schemes. We are also present in Jordan and Lebanon where climate change, displacement, an ongoing refugee crisis and fragile economies pose different challenges to the housing sector. The diversity of the context in the MENA region has required agility and innovation in designing our interventions and housing solutions. 

"However, with recent global events and the pandemic, more vulnerable families are experiencing multidimensional poverty and there is a critical need for stakeholders from across the housing value chain to align their advocacy efforts. We aim for this platform to enable a unified vision and forge essential partnerships to address housing needs.”

Through a selected list of panelists, sessions will shed light on actions for adequate housing and sustainable recovery pathways in the context of rapid urbanisation and displacement, and discuss the impacts of climate change on vulnerable households . The forum will feature presentations on the role technology in affordable housing and highlight innovation efforts from the region. Furthermore, microfinancing and funding agencies will share best practices in housing finance and their critical role in affordable housing solutions.  

Ashraf Eid, Habitat for Humanity’s Country Director in Egypt said: “This forum presents us with an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to collectively address affordable housing needs in the region and we invite government agencies, academics and relevant stakeholders from the private sector to attend this inclusive meeting.” 

Habitat for Humanity’s programming in the Middle East has reached over 237.000beneficiaries through direct shelter rehabilitation solutions, urban recovery programming and microfinancing.  

The MENA Housing Forum will take place at the Cairo Marriott Hotel. Both in person and online participants must register.