Nairobi, 11th December 2024 – The first session of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All opened in Nairobi on 9th December 2024. The Global Expert Group seeks to consider and make recommendations to the UN-Habitat Assembly onthe development and content of policies for accelerating progress towards the universal achievement of safe, sustainable, adequate & affordable housing.
At its first meeting, Kenya highlighted progress made in the implementation of its transformative Affordable Housing Program (AHP) that seeks to create opportunities for better living conditions while ensuring youth employment and economic development. As the lead sponsor of the Resolution on Adequate Housing for All, passed at the second UN-Habitat Assembly in 2013, Kenya also offered the Expert Working Group its Affordable Housing Program as a platform to accelerate implementation of the resolution. The three-day meeting provided an opportunity for Member States to assess progress, share solutions, and discuss the challenges of ensuring adequate housing for all.
On the final day of the meeting, delegates had the privilege of visiting Kenya’s Mukuru Affordable Housing Project. Guided by officials from the State Department for Housing and Urban Development and the Permanent Mission to UN-Habitat, delegates witnessed first-hand, the implementation of this transformative initiative that embodies Kenya’s aspirations to provide safe, affordable and dignified living spaces for all, particularly the most vulnerable in society. The Mukuru Projectis the largest affordable housing initiative currently underway in the country, spanning 56 acres and delivering more than 13,000 housing units.
The session culminated in the election of Kenya as Co-Chairof the Global Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All. As Co-Chair, Kenya’s Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat, Amb. Grace Okara, jointly with her French counterpart, will spearhead efforts to, inter alia, identify policy best practices for the progressive realization of adequate housing and propose a framework for reporting on adequacy of housing, across diverse national and local contexts, paving the way for actionable solutions. This marks a significant milestone and reinforces Kenya’s position as a global leader in promoting access to adequate and affordable housing for all. It also exemplifies Kenya’s commitment to advancing the New Urban Agenda, the African Union Agenda 2063, and the implementation of SDG11 on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
