UN-Habitate, Egypt's Social Housing Fund Ink Cooperation Agreement

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund in Egypt have signed a cooperation agreement to provide adequate housing for all Egyptians.

According to a statement recently issued by UN-Habitate, this partnership aims to enhance housing data and frameworks for making suitable and attractive housing units available to different groups, particularly for low-income residents, and to activate the roles of various entities and parties to support the provision of appropriate and decent housing for all.

The cooperation between UN-Habitat and the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund seeks to support national housing policies and programs. The cooperation agreement also aims to support the implementation of the outcomes of the National Housing Strategy, especially with regard to providing adequate housing for all.

"The importance of this partnership is due to the many challenges facing Egypt, as the population of Egypt is expected to reach about 120 million people by the year 2030, with 50% to 63% of the population in cities and their suburbs. Thus, Egypt will need more than half a million housing units. This huge need for housing is compounded by the societal trend that supports ownership of residential units and the shrinkage of the official rental market," the statement read.

Rania Hadiya, the UN-Habitate Acting Regional Representative for the Arab States, stated that the Egyptian government launched the National Housing Strategy in 2020 under the leadership of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities - Housing and Utilities Sector, in cooperation with UN-Habitat.

Hadiya also added this strategy represents an integrated, comprehensive, knowledge-based vision that defines clear strategies and responsibilities of the various actors in the housing and urban development sector.

In turn, Mai Abdel Hamid, CEO of the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund, explained that the cooperation between UN-Habitat and the Fund aims to develop the rental market in Egypt, noting that this sector is one of the areas that the Egyptian government has decided to support during the coming period for the benefit of citizens.

Abdel Hamid further mentioned that the partnership will identify the obstacles facing the housing sector and determine how to address and confront them to advance the Egyptian housing strategy.