Bangladesh Housing Forum

New housing coalition invigorates commitment to build resilient and responsive communities

Dhaka, 24 April 2019  ─ Housing experts and industry leaders in the academia, NGOs and government gather together to invigorate commitment to strengthen access to adequate and decent housing with the launch of a “Bangladesh Housing Forum” during a “National Seminar on Building Collaboration for Housing Impact.”

Government leaders Sharif Ahmed, State Minister, Ministry of Social Welfare; Rashidul Islam, Chairman of National Housing Authority; and Gokul Krishna Ghosh, (Joint Secretary), Director of NGO Affairs Bureau at the Prime Minister’s Office served as guest speakers during the 2-day national seminar from April 23-24 at Hotel Lakeshore in Gulshan, Dhaka.

Dr. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Power and Participation Research Centre Chairman and former Adviser of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh in his keynote presentation emphasized the need for inclusive urban housing initiatives in Bangladesh: “Urban housing solutions are critical to realizing SDG 11 and sustainable and equitable urbanization. By 2021 there will be a deficit of at least 8.5 million units in the housing sector in Bangladesh.”

The new Bangladesh Housing Forum will serve as a coalition for like-minded organizations to facilitate communication and coordination, sharing and discussions to address Bangladesh’s housing-related challenges. The founding members of the Forum include Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh, Caritas Bangladesh, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Housing and Building Research Institute, Oxfam in Bangladesh and UN-Habitat.

Habitat for Humanity Asia-Pacific vice president Rick Hathaway

Rick Hathaway, Habitat for Humanity Vice President for Asia-Pacific said, “We welcome the formation of the Bangladesh Housing Forum as an alliance of stakeholders to facilitate the dissemination of housing information and best practices. This demonstrates the innate drive of sector organizations to work with the government and multiple partners to facilitate an ongoing platform that will lead the way and provide meaningful opportunities for players to scale up projects that push for affordable and decent housing.”

The Bangladesh Housing Forum’s national seminar kicks off a series of preliminary events leading to the seventh Asia-Pacific Housing Forum, a sector-wide conference organized by Habitat for Humanity Taking place in September in Bangkok, the regional Forum gathers practitioners and stakeholders to tackle issues, discuss solutions and promote low-cost, affordable housing as a driver of economic growth. 

The Bangladesh Housing Forum national seminar has four focus areas: Bangladesh housing challenges, policy, and plans; Affordable, alternative and inclusive housing technologies; Role of market and private sector in affordable and resilient housing; and Disaster risk reduction, response, and climate change adaptation.

The outcomes and action points from Bangladesh Housing Forum’s national seminar will be consolidated with the takeaways from five other preliminary events taking place around Asia and the Pacific region. Through the years, the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum has served as a platform to amplify why housing matters. It recognizes the potential to create convergence between industry leaders and decision makers while learning from industry best practices and people’s local experiences across urban and rural settings in the region and around the world

Register now and visit aphousingforum.org for more information on Forum features, speakers and diffusion events.