Africa

Africa Shelter and Settlements Forum 2022 #5

On the 6-7 September 2022 the V Africa Shelter and Settlements Forum was held in-person (Dakar, Senegal) and virtually and included participation and presentations from a wide geographic reach across the regions. The forum was held in English and French and was presented across two days to create opportunities for sharing best practices, learning and dialogue within the region towards improving shelter and settlement responses. 

All presentations and agenda can he consulted here.  

Contact africashelterforum@gmail.com for more information 

Africa Shelter Forum 2021 #4

© Andrea Ruffini / IOM Chad

On the 17th and 18th of November 2021 the IV Africa Shelter and Settlements Forum was held virtually and included participation and presentations from a wide geographic reach across the regions. The virtual forum was held in English, French and Portuguese and was presented across two days to create opportunities for sharing best practices, learning and dialogue within the region towards improving shelter and settlement responses. 

All presentations, agenda and recordings can he consulted here.  

The two-day Forum was divided into 3 areas to learn from:  

  1. Sharing learnings from shelter and settlements programming in Africa, covering topics such as Self-recovery; Local Response & Leadership; Protection and Inclusion; HLP; Post-pandemic recovery among others   
  1. Spotlight on global and regional shelter and settlement initiatives, and  
  1. Networking and discussions among colleagues across the region.  

The presentations across both days covered programs from Mozambique, Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia, DRC, Uganda, Benin, South Sudan, Malawi, Chad, Sudan and Somalia and was represented through participation by DRC, InterAction, Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Relief Services, UN-Habitat, IOM, Red Cross, IMPACT Initiatives, UNHCR, Medair, IFRC, Global Shelter Cluster, ICRC and ACCSD. 

The wide range of presentations depict the multi-dimensionality of current shelter and settlements response and the issues that are addressed – from detailed material, construction/repair and architecture focuses, to country-wide programming.? 

On the second day, participants entered parallel breakout groups to further discuss themes: HLP and protection; Greening Shelter and Settlements Programming; and Local Response and Leadership. The discussions were varied – in one group, representatives discussed the importance of HLP issues within complex situations, in another, participants supported green solutions as entry points to future programming.

The Forum was a success, with over 100 participants each day joining mainly from Africa, but also globally. The opportunity of learning and exchange was well used, and also presented the synergies between different stakeholders and actors in shelter and settlements response across the globe. This edition of the Africa Shelter Forum was organised by DRC, InterAction, IFRC, Global Shelter Cluster, IOM, Habitat for Humanity and UN-Habitat with the support of USAID.

Contact africashelterforum@gmail.com for more information 

Africa Shelter Forum 2020 #3

Building on the previous annual East Africa Shelter Forums that were held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2018 and 2019, this year, the Africa Shelter Forum was broadened geographically across the continent and included presentations and active engagement from the wider region. The Forum was also held virtually in both English and French, to create opportunities for access, learning and sharing across the continent and improve shelter and settlement responses through the facilitation of discussions and networking opportunities.

The half-day Forum was divided into three focus areas: 1- Sharing learning from shelter and settlements programming in Africa, 2- Updates on regional and global shelter and settlements initiatives, and 3- Discussions on the role of shelter and settlements in public health emergencies. Presentations were followed by participants entering four parallel breakout groups for further discussion focusing on various themes under the topics: Shelter and Settlements Responses to Covid-19; HLP and Covid-19; Integrated Programming (Shelter-WASH-Health); and broader discussions on the previous three themes.

The Forum was a tremendous success, with over 250 participants joining from more than 140 cities globally. This event was one of the largest ever shelter events held globally, and a great opportunity for learning and exchange between different parts of Africa, and to link national partners with shelter and settlements colleagues across the globe.

This edition of the Africa Shelter Forum was organized by DRC, IFRC, InterAction, IOM and UN-Habitat.

Contact africashelterforum@gmail.com for more information.

Agenda (English): Download here

Agenda (French): Download here

Event Summary Report (English): Download here

Event Summary Report (French): Download here

All presentation slides (English and French): Click here


East Africa Shelter Forum #2

The second East Africa Shelter Forum was held in Nairobi on the 20th of June 2019 and was attended by around 50 participants from the region and beyond.

Building on the  learnings and outcomes emerging from the Shelter Projects Workshop held on the 19th, and on the discussions of last year’s edition, the forum (EASF#2) reviewed some of the best practices in the region, looking at how learnings can be transferred between countries, concentrating on a number of themes and shelter approaches in the region. The themes included linkages with livelihoods and resilience, cash-based interventions, security of tenure in shelter operations, disability inclusion, and shelter and WASH complementarity.

This edition of the forum was organized by DRC, IFRC and IOM, thanks to the support of USAID/OFDA.

Contact eashelterforum@gmail.com for more information.

Presentations Day 1 – 19 June 2019 – Shelter Projects

Presentations Day 2 – 20 June 2019 – Forum


East Africa Shelter Forum #1

On June 27 and 28, 2018, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) organized a two-day interagency shelter event. The Shelter Projects Workshop (SPW) on day 1 focused on learning from past experiences of shelter and settlement responses in East and Horn of Africa by actively engaging participants using case studies from the Shelter Projects publication (www.shelterprojects.org). The East Africa Shelter Forum (EASF#1), the first of its kind in the region, discussed ideas, initiatives, best practices and lessons learned in the shelter and settlements sector across countries in the region, as well as global initiatives. Themes included local building cultures, cash-based interventions, community engagement, security of tenure, GBV risk mitigation in shelter and site planning, and beyond.