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Newsroom archive

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Media contacts

Habitat for Humanity has extensive knowledge of the housing and shelter sector throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa.

For comments and interviews on today’s housing news, we can connect you with spokespeople across the region.

Please contact:
 

Brian Feagans
Senior Director
International Communications

Phone: +1 404 420 6726
Email: [email protected]

Habitat can also offer detailed information, case studies, and housing research as well as hi-resolution photos to cover regional housing issues or specific problems in a country.

Habitat for Humanity in the news

 
Standard, July 2019: Deal to provide housing fund for low-income earners

Shelter Afrique and the Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter have signed a memorandum of understanding to mobilize affordable home loans targeting low-income and middle-income earners.

 

The Economist, July 2019: Housing microfinance can help poor people build better homes

In Kenya and Uganda, banks and microlenders offer smaller housing loans—a family might borrow for an extra room, or a cement floor. Based on Habitat for Humanity’s evaluations, satisfaction with housing rose, but stress levels and school attendance were unchanged.

 

CNBC Africa, July 2019: City of Ekurhuleni tackles poverty and equality on Mandela Day

In celebration of 10 years of Mandela Day, Habitat discussed a dream of a world where everyone has an equal access to decent shelter in CNBC Africa’s Mandela Day Panel.    

 
Devex, June 2019: Catalyzing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in shelter

Public sector initiatives alone are not sufficient to meet the growing housing deficit. To close the existing housing gap, we need to catalyze markets by providing affordable finance options for low-income market segments and promote innovation and development of affordable construction technologies and materials.

 
Zodiak Malawi, May 2019: Habitat for Humanity in Malawi Responds to Floods

“Unless a nation invests in Build Back Better helping families go back to their displaced areas and build disaster resilient houses, the same families will be affected by the disasters in the coming years,” says Kelvin Kalonga, National Director for Habitat for Humanity Malawi.

 
NTV Kenya, Mar 2019: Youth innovation on affordable housing | Property Show

From green building materials to mobile applications – young people in Kenya have great ideas how to make housing more affordable. Watch the NTV Kenya show where George Mugweru explains how Habitat’s ShelterTech Accelerator helps them to introduce their ideas in housing market. This discussion starts from 8:30 minute. 

 

Al Jazeera, Mar 2019: Inside Skopje, Europe’s most polluted capital city

Every winter, North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, becomes enveloped in a smog of pollution. Non-eco friendly residential heating - like burning wood or even plastic - is considered one of the chief contributors to the pollution. Residents struggle to stay warm with high energy costs and poor insulation.

 
Devex, Mar 2019: How housing microfinance in Africa can improve quality of life

In sub-Saharan Africa, the poor have very limited access to long-term financing for housing, which is almost invariably limited to commercial banks offering formal, multiyear mortgages. Owning a home is beyond the reach of the vast majority.

 
Pangea Accelerator, 2019: Habitat For Humanity Drives Innovation in Market System by Connecting Startups and Corporates

Wednesday, 20 February 2019 saw thirty early stage and scale-up businesses and twenty-one corporate organisations in Kenya meet in Nairobi to interact and discuss opportunities for collaboration on innovative affordable housing solutions. The event was organized by the ShelterTech Accelerator Program led by Habitat for Humanity and implemented by BDO East Africa in collaboration with Pangea Accelerator.

Latest news

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From Japan and New Zealand to Dobšiná: Nearly 20 volunteers will travel thousands of kilometres to support children in Slovakia

October 05, 2026

DOBŠINÁ/BRATISLAVA – October 2026 – Instead of taking a holiday, they are picking up work gloves, saws and paintbrushes – and dedicating a week to helping others. Nearly 20 volunteers from eight countries will travel to Dobšiná in early October to help renovate the premises of the Domček Parent Centre, which has been supporting children and families at risk of generational poverty for the past 13 years. The volunteers will come from as far away as Japan, New Zealand and Australia, as well as Denmark, Germany, Poland, Ireland and Croatia.

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woman and child looking out on the balcony

What do people give up to afford a home?

October 05, 2026

[BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — 5 October 2026] — A new Habitat for Humanity study finds that people around the world are cutting back on food, using savings and changing plans for the future to afford housing.Three in four people surveyed worldwide said they had cut at least one expense to afford housing. One in three spent less on food; nearly a third used savings or emergency funds, and 31% took on extra work. Nearly half, 48%, worry that one unexpected problem could threaten their housing security.

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rundown building

Habitat for Humanity joins Transforming Invisible Buildings project to advance affordable housing through building reuse

September 17, 2026

(BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – 17 September 2026) — Habitat for Humanity is contributing to the Transforming Invisible Buildings project, which has been underway since February 2026 and is helping cities turn vacant and underused buildings into affordable, energy-efficient homes. The partnership builds on Empty Spaces to Homes, our flagship initiative helping European cities put unused buildings to work for people who need a decent place to live. 

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London Opened the Door and the Conversation Followed

June 08, 2026

For two remarkable days, Covent Garden became a gathering place where reflection, conversation and connection unfolded through art, storytelling and shared experiences. On May 29–30, Habitat for Humanity’s global public art installation Let’s Open the Door arrived in London, transforming one of the city’s busiest public spaces into an immersive experience exploring what home means, why it matters and why everyone deserves one. As one of only two international cities selected to host the campaign outside the United States, London joined a global movement that has already inspired audiences in New York, Washington D.C., Orlando, Atlanta and Chicago. Through striking artistic doors, real homeowner stories and opportunities for public participation, the installation invited thousands of people to consider a simple but profound question: What does home mean to you?

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