Between humanitarian emergency and local dynamics, initiatives for decent housing are gaining momentum in West Africa.
From Togo to Benin, through Senegal and across West Africa, a growing movement is taking shape: that of residents organising to claim their right to decent, sustainable, and affordable housing.
Last week, urbaMonde travelled to Togo and Benin for a mission filled with meetings, discussions, and shared perspectives with the project partners of “Living and Thriving in Informal Settlements“.
A first forum to unite actors working on emergency housing in the Francophone world
First highlight: Lomé, where the very first Forum of the Francophone Emergency Housing Network (RHUF) was held — a groundbreaking gathering that brought together humanitarian organisations, researchers, donors, and practitioners, under the auspices of the African School of Architecture and Urban Planning (EAMAU). For three days, participants shared their experiences to rethink emergency housing assistance in light of common challenges: climate crises, forced displacement, unequal access to land, and increasingly constrained funding.
Invited alongside our Senegalese partner urbaSEN, we presented the community savings mechanisms promoted by the Senegalese Federation of Residents, now adopted in seven other West African countries. This solidarity-based approach sparked lively discussions about its potential to strengthen the resilience of populations facing crises, and as a lever for local financing in humanitarian contexts.
These discussions took place during a session dedicated to innovative financing, alongside other initiatives. The challenge was clear: how to sustain housing solutions amid emergencies and budget constraints?
A regional momentum underway
On the sidelines of the Forum, urbaMonde facilitated strategic workshops that brought together representatives from the eight member federations of the C8 Federation. The agenda included developing a common strategy and a five-year action plan to strengthen the impact of community actions on housing in West Africa.
This mission also allowed the partners of the project Living and Thriving in Informal Settlements (CRAterre, urbaMonde, urbaSEN, Yaam Solidarité, Grdr) to collectively reflect on the project’s future beyond 2026, with a shared ambition: to strengthen the links between housing, improving living conditions, and local development.
Heading to Cotonou: between fieldwork and new alliances
The mission concluded in Benin with two days of exchanges and field visits in Cotonou, alongside the Beninese Federation of Residents, HaZoBit. Meetings with local and international actors opened new avenues for cooperation to improve living conditions in informal settlements, while strengthening residents’ autonomy and the local ownership of projects.
