Housing now recognized in Malawi’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) outline each country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. While housing is often viewed as a social or infrastructure issue, Malawi’s updated NDC now explicitly names housing, informal settlements, and urban resilience as part of its climate response.

This is the first time housing has appeared in the country’s NDC, and it followed months of advocacy and technical engagement by Habitat for Humanity Malawi and partners.

This policy shift matters because of what it makes possible. Climate finance, national adaptation plans, and infrastructure investment tend to flow toward what a country’s climate policy names explicitly. A pledge that omits housing tends to produce climate responses that omit it too, leaving vulnerable communities without the support they need to prepare for and recover from climate shocks. 

This milestone strengthens the housing agenda in several critical ways:

• Unlocking Climate Finance: It positions Malawi to attract international climate funding specifically designated for resilient urban development and housing infrastructure.
• Stronger Housing Standards: It paves the way for better building regulations, ensuring that homes are constructed to withstand extreme weather events.
• Upgrading Vulnerable Communities: It prioritizes the transformation of informal settlements into safer, healthier, and more sustainable neighborhoods.

Naming housing in the NDC creates a stronger platform for climate-resilient housing, access to climate finance, and greater attention to the needs and dignity of the more than 1.4 million people living in informal settlements across Malawi.

Malawi government cites Habitat partnership in UN address on urban development

Complementing the NDC win is the recent UN’s High-Level Meeting for the Mid-Term Review of the New Urban Agenda in New York.

During the session, Malawi’s Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Hon Chimwemwe Chipungu, addressed the international community on the country’s progress toward inclusive, resilient urbanization. 

Malawi’s urban strategy, he explained, now centers on developing secondary cities to ease pressure on the capital, strengthening rural-urban linkages, and decentralizing authority so local governments can better lead implementation. He called for greater investment in affordable housing, resilient infrastructure, and informal settlement upgrading — and for improved access to climate finance, technology transfer, and technical assistance to make that investment possible.

In making that case, the Minister pointed to a concrete example already underway: Habitat for Humanity Malawi’s partnership with a local government authority and service providers on a slum-upgrading intervention that transformed an informal settlement in Lilongwe. This initiative was highlighted as an example of the multi-stakeholder collaboration needed to advance inclusive and resilient urban development across Malawi.

Reflecting on the significance of the milestone, Habitat for Humanity Africa Area Vice President Abi Riak noted: “This is exactly why we invest in advocacy — to secure public commitments, strengthen community accountability, and translate policy into practical change. None of us advances the mission alone. When national, regional, and global teams bring their different strengths to a shared purpose, we achieve more together than any one team could accomplish on its own.”

What comes next

Policy commitments are an important starting point. Their success will depend on translating national frameworks into action through investment, implementation and continued collaboration.

The next step is turning policy into practice by supporting implementation, strengthening partnerships and ensuring that resilient housing reaches the communities that need it most, with those communities playing a meaningful role in how it’s implemented and monitored.

As climate risks continue to grow, Malawi’s experience demonstrates that housing can no longer be viewed solely as a development issue. Safe, resilient and well-planned housing is fundamental to climate adaptation, helping communities withstand shocks, recover faster and build a more sustainable future.

Read Malawi’s NDC climate pledge here

Read the Minister of Malawi’s address at the Mid-Term Review of the New Urban Agenda below.

Côte d’Ivoire is estimated to have lost more than 90% of its mangroves between the 1970s and 2013. In Ghana, more than 60% of the coastline is now vulnerable to erosion and flooding, and the country’s remaining 13,000–14,000 hectares of mangrove forest — concentrated in the Volta Delta, Keta Lagoon Complex, Songor Lagoon, Densu Delta, Muni Lagoon, and Ankobra Estuary, according to the Forestry Commission of Ghana, Global Mangrove Watch, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Programme, and the Ramsar Information Service — continue to shrink under pressure from unsustainable harvesting, urban expansion, salt mining, pollution, and climate change.

To mark the 2026 World Mangrove Day, Habitat for Humanity joined partners including UN-Habitat Côte d’Ivoire and ActionAid Ghana alongside communities to launch large-scale mangrove restoration activities under the Improved Resilience of Coastal Communities (IRCC) Project, supported by the Adaptation Fund.

Ghana: from Anloga to Ada West

In Ghana, restoration efforts are already underway. More than 95,000 mangrove seedlings have been planted in Anloga District, with an additional 95,000 seedlings set to be planted across 38 hectares in Ada West. Ultimately, the project aims to restore 479 hectares of degraded mangrove ecosystems across the Greater Accra and Volta regions.

The Volta Delta, where much of this work is concentrated, is recognized as one of West Africa’s most important coastal wetland ecosystems, supporting thousands of people through fishing, farming, and salt production.

As Malik Gbene, ActionAid Ghana’s Quality and Knowledge Manager, put it: 

“Climate justice begins with community-led action. It is our collective responsibility to restore what is lost by planting new seedlings. By investing in mangrove restoration today, we are protecting livelihoods, strengthening coastal resilience, and safeguarding the environment for future generations.”

Côte d’Ivoire: from Jacqueville to Grand-Bassam

In Côte d’Ivoire, just days ahead of World Mangrove Day, partners marked the start of the mangrove restoration efforts with a ceremony in the village of Attoutou B, Jacqueville.  The exercise targets restoration of 58 hectares across five communities in Jacqueville followed by 45 hectares in Grand-Bassam.

“When we restore mangroves, we are not simply planting trees—we are rebuilding the future of coastal communities.”  Alioune Ndiaye, Chief of Party, Habitat for Humanity.

Across both countries, the project aims to restore mangroves at scale, with nearly 87,000 people expected to directly benefit over the long term from the ecosystem services and protection these restored coastal forests provide.

Communities leading the way
Local communities are at the heart of the restoration process, s from collecting propagules and managing nurseries, to planting and monitoring seedlings.  Their leadership ensures restoration efforts are locally owned, sustainable and responsive to community needs.

Opening the door to climate resilience

This work reflects the vision of Habitat for Humanity’s Let’s Open the Door campaign, which calls for collective action to expand access to safe, resilient housing and stronger communities. By restoring mangroves, we are opening the door to greater climate resilience, helping coastal families protect their homes, secure their livelihoods, and build a more sustainable future.

The Improved Resilience of Coastal Communities project, financed by the Adaptation Fund, works with 21 coastal communities across Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to strengthen resilience through nature-based solutions, improved infrastructure, and ecosystem restoration, creating lasting benefits for people and the places they call home.

UN-Habitat serves as the project’s Implementing Entity, with the nature-based solutions component led by Habitat for Humanity International and implemented in Ghana together with ActionAid Ghana.

Learn more about the project: Adaptation Fund Project - Habitat for Humanity Côte d’Ivoire

Women building resilient manyattas

In Maasai communities across Kajiado and Narok Counties, the manyatta — the traditional homestead at the heart of family life — is identity, heritage and women’s craftsmanship. For generations, Maasai women have built these homes by hand, using mud, cow dung, grass and timber with remarkable skill. 

Yet the same homes that hold such a deep cultural significance are also structurally fragile. During heavy rains, walls erode, demanding frequent and exhausting repairs — work that falls largely on women. Inside, smoke from open-fire cooking fills poorly ventilated spaces, contributing to respiratory illnesses among women and children. At the same time, water scarcity forces many women to spend hours everyday walking long distances to collect water for their families – time lost that could be reclaimed through simple rainwater harvesting systems integrated into the manyatta design

Women empowerment:
This initiative is more than a housing project, it is an investment in women. Working directly alongside the Maasai women, the initiative introduces EarthEnable construction technology that significantly increases structural durability while preserving the natural appearance of the home. The homes will also have better ventilation and lighting reducing indoor air pollution while energy-saving cookstoves will channel fumes safely out of the living space. Rainwater harvesting systems will bring a reliable water source directly to the home, reclaiming the hours women previously spent collecting water.

By equipping the Maasai women with advanced construction skills, it builds confidence, creates opportunities and strengthens their role as community leaders and custodians of tradition.

Opening the door to jigger-free homes

Jigger infestation can cause intense pain, discomfort, infection and in severe cases, lifelong disability. Children in endemic areas can miss weeks of school, while some never return.

Kenya’s national jigger eradication campaigns have shown that medical treatment alone is not enough. Treated individuals return to infested homes and are re-infected within weeks, because the floor, the root of the problem, remains unchanged.

Habitat Kenya’s floor improvement initiative tackles the problem as its source: the floor itself. 

In urban and peri-urban areas, cement screed floors — a durable concrete finish applied directly over earthen floors will provide a clean, parasite-hostile surface that lasts more than 20 years. In more remote communities where conventional cement supply is difficult and costly, earth-enabled technology will offer an innovative alternative: a compressed, stabilised earth floor using largely on-site materials, sealed with a natural polish. Both approaches are affordable, locally grounded and built to last.

The improved floors are paired with health education on jigger prevention, household hygiene and foot care, ensuring families sustain the gains long after the construction is complete. The goal is 10,000 improved floors, directly benefiting 50,000 Kenyans by 2030.

A movement worth joining

Safe, decent housing changes everything.  Through the Let’s Open the Door campaign, you can help create stronger manyattas for Maasai families and support jigger-free homes across Kenya.

Every gift opens a door to possibility.

Donate today and help open the door to health, dignity and opportunity.

A key feature of the event was Habitat for Humanity Kenya’s demonstration of Compressed Stabilized Soil Blocks (CSSB) and Interlocking Stabilized Soil Blocks (ISSB). Produced using locally available materials, the technologies can reduce construction costs, shorten building timelines and lower environmental impacts while increasing access to durable housing suited to local conditions.

Through its Integrated Housing Support Project, Habitat for Humanity Kenya’s has already supported the construction of 12 teacher and community housing units using CSSB and ISSB technologies, enabled community enterprises to produce more than 21,000 stabilized soil blocks, and expanded the adoption of alternative building technologies through partnerships with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.

Speaking during the forum, Habitat Kenya National Director Dr. Eileen Mokaya, highlighted the importance of locally produced building materials in reducing housing costs while creating livelihood opportunities for local communities.

“Often, transporting construction materials costs more than the materials themselves,” she said. “By producing quality building materials where construction is taking place, we can significantly reduce costs while creating economic opportunities for local artisans, especially youth and women.”

Laikipia County Deputy Governor H.E. Reuben Kamuri echoed the importance of collaboration, noting that addressing Kenya’s housing challenge requires collective action across government, the private sector and communities. He also highlighted secure land tenure as a critical enabler of housing development and reaffirmed the County Government’s commitment to working with Habitat for Humanity Kenya to improve access to land documentation.

Beyond the policy discussions and technology demonstrations, the forum celebrated the graduation of 48 youth and women artisans who completed National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) certification in masonry and sanitation construction. Strengthening local skills and technical capacity is an important step toward enabling communities to deliver and sustain affordable housing and sanitation solutions. 

As Africa continues to face a growing housing deficit, experiences from Laikipia in Kenya demonstrate how locally driven innovation, technical skills development and multi-sector partnerships can make affordable housing more accessible, support livelihoods and help open the door to safe, decent housing for more families.

Through a community-driven Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Habitat for Humanity Zambia, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Germany, worked alongside residents and local government to improve access to essential services. More than 16,000 people now benefit from clean water and safe sanitation.

Community members were at the heart of the solution. 

Residents helped plan and deliver the project, working alongside 40 trained local artisans to address critical WASH deficits in households, schools, and public spaces. WASH committees and Water Watch Groups were also established, and residents were trained in WASH social accountability, giving the community the knowledge and structures to protect and sustain what they built long after the project concluded.

The project delivered significant infrastructure across the settlement:

• 15 water kiosks, each equipped with a 10,000-litre overhead storage tank and connected to the Lukanga Water Supply and Sanitation Company’s reticulated water system.
• 80 pour-flush household toilets, providing improved sanitation for 481 people. 
• Upgraded disability-inclusive sanitation blocks with integrated menstrual hygiene provisions in four schools.
• Community-wide hygiene behaviour change campaigns, reaching approximately 40,000 residents 
• Trained 40 local artisans and established active WASH committees and Water Watch Groups 
• Established one community nursery garden for waste recycling and income generation 

For Mary, the impact was felt in the most personal way. 

“Before, we feared the toilet would collapse when it rained.” she says. “Now we have a safe, dignified toilet with a bathroom. My family no longer depends on neighbours.”

The project also opened doors of opportunity by establishing a nursery garden for waste recycling and income generation, ensuring what was built in Makululu is sustained by the community for generations to come.