IFC Partners with CITICConstruction to Develop Affordable Housing in Africa

 IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Chinese multinational construction and engineering company, CITIC Construction Co., Ltd  today launched a $300 million investment platform, CITICC (Africa) Holding Limited,to develop affordable housing in Sub-Saharan Africa.The platform will partner with local housing developers and provide long-term capital to develop 30,000 homes over next five years. IFC estimates that each housing unit will create five full time jobs – resulting in nearly 150,000 new jobs on the continent.  

Rapid urbanization is pushing up demand for housing in Sub-Saharan Africa. African cities become home to over 40,000 people every day, many of whom find themselves without a roof over their heads.Kenya’s housing shortage is estimated at 2 million units, while Nigeria is in want of 17 million units. The soaring demand is being met by scant new supply.  Africa’s housing market has few local developers with the technical and financial strength to construct large-scale projects. 

The IFC-CITIC Construction platform will work with local housing companies to develop affordable housing projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, each ranging in size from2,000 to8,000 units. CITIC Construction has a proven track record in constructing and delivering large scale housing projects.  The platform will start by developing homes in Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria, expanding to other countries as operations ramp up. 

“In Angola, through planning, financing, construction and post-construction operation, CITIC Construction has successfully completed the 200,000 units housing program, new city of Kilamba Kiaxi, with relative infrastructure and utilities in four years. CITIC Construction has also founded the CITIC BN Vocational School in Angola which helps youth acquire the skills they need to become professionals”, said Hong Bo, Assistant President of CITIC Group and Chairwoman of CITIC Construction, “CITICConstruction will take advantage of our engineering experience and delivery capability to develop more affordable houses for Africa through the platform with IFC.”

“As Sub-Saharan Africa become more urbanized, the private sector can help governments meet the critical need for housing”, said OumarSeydi, IFC Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. “The platform will help transform Africa’s housing marketsby providing high quality, affordable homes, creating jobs, and demonstrating the viability of the sector to local developers. IFC will work with financial institutions to support mortgages and housing finance that will allow people to purchase the units.”

The new housing units will be constructed in accordance to IFC’s green building standards, delivering homes that are environmentally friendly and sustainable.  

The World Bank Group estimates that by 2030, three billion people, or 40% of the world’s population will need new housing units. To date, IFC has invested more than $3 billion in housing finance in over 46 countries world-wide.  IFC focuses on regions where large portions of the population live in sub-standard housing and have limited access to credit to build, expand, or renovate their homes.

WE REMIND AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS THAT WOMEN’S HEALTH MATTERS, SAYS IPPFAR

May 28 is the International Day of Action for Women's Health. IPPF Africa Region joins other sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates across the globe to remind all African governments and leaders that women’s health matters.

“The link between sexual and reproductive health and women’s empowerment cannot be denied. Women are at the heart of development in any society,” said IPPF Africa Region Director Lucien Kouakou. “Governments must recognise and prioritize safe motherhood and safe pregnancy. They have the duty to remove all barriers including gender inequality that deny women this right.”

The extreme consequences resulting from a narrow approach to women’s health through the denial of sexual and reproductive health services and rights continue to cost women their lives and affect how they access and use reproductive health services.

Millions of African women and girls still remain the most affected by the denial of access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights.

Maternal and child mortality rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

Unintended pregnancies among school going girls, result in a high dropout rate, further fuelling the vicious cycle of poverty facing young people.

Gender inequalities which perpetuate harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, early marriages and sexual and gender based violence.

Women who have undergone female genital mutilation have significantly increased risks for complications during childbirth, including the death of the child.

Contraceptive use is lowest in sub-Saharan Africa and our women and girls remain the most affected by the HIV and Aids pandemic.

“The post-2015 agenda must comprehensively address women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights. As a Federation, we continue to advocate a standalone goal on gender in the post-2015 development agenda and universal access to sexual and reproductive health,” Mr Kouakou said.

“Today let us renew our commitment to ensure that no woman dies from unsafe abortion, no woman dies while bringing life. All women and young girls must have access to sexual and reproductive health services and right,” he said.

Mr Kouakou lauded the African Union for designating the Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063, saying this is an important step, in putting women’s issues at the forefront as the world charts towards a new development framework.

MSF RELOCATES STAFF DUE TO INSECURITY

Following a series of recent incidents in the area of Dadaab, 42 staff (one third of the staff living in the MSF compound in Dadaab) has been relocated to Nairobi today. This is a preventive measure, which will unfortunately have a direct impact on our ability to provide the much needed medical assistance to the refugees.

Two health posts out of four have already been closed as a result and some medical services such as antenatal care have been suspended.

MSF will continue to evaluate the situation hoping that security in the camps for the refugees and our staff can be assured. Once guarantees have been obtained, MSF can return to full activities as soon as possible.

Unilever Partners with USAID to Avert Child Mortality

Unilever Partners with USAID to Avert Child Mortality

Unilever has renewed its partnership with USAID, which will see expansion of its Lifebuoy hand washing with soap campaign in Kenya so as to save lives of new-born babies.

Miriam Sidibe, Global Brand Director-Lifebuoy Social Mission notes that more than 1.2 million new-borns do not live beyond the first year in sub-Saharan Africa, deaths that can be prevented through hand washing with soap.

“Most new-born deaths are due to infections, and could be averted through simple preventive measures such as improving hygiene and ensuring curative care is available to sick children,” she said.

Lifebuoy through its renewed partnership with USAID’s Maternal and Child Survival Programme (MCSP) aims to create a dedicated new-born programme to make hand washing with soap a common place among mothers.  

“50% of the world’s under-5 deaths happen in Africa, with 1 in every 10 children born dying before their 5th birthday. We are combining our expertise to achieve real change for the mothers and children in Africa – so that every child in Africa can live beyond their fifth birthday,” added Sidibe.

The partnership comes barely days after the Government called on donors and private sector to harmonise their activities and funding so that greater impact can be felt by the beneficiaries.

Lifebuoy aims to reach 71 million people across Africa by 2020 as part of its behaviour change programme which has engaged 257 million people in 24 countries since 2010, by teaching them good handwashing habits.

The Unilever-USAID renewed partnership was announced during The Fourth Regional Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa (AfricaSan 4) themed - Making Sanitation for All a Reality in Africa, which is taking place in Dakar, Senegal. With the launch of the United Nation’s new Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) in September 2014, Lifebuoy is raising awareness of the need to include a provision for hygiene facilities in the water and sanitation goal (SDG 6).

KENYAN STRATEGIC 2013/2017 HUMAN TRAFFICKING PLAN LAUNCHED

The Kenyan government has launched a new 2013/2017 strategic plan to combat human trafficking.

'We need to co-operate to ensure we eradicate human trafficking. The Ministry of Labour needs to co-operate with the judiciary, police an d other stakeholders to make this a success, ' says acting Cabinet Secretary for Labour Raychelle Omamo.

Omamo adds that women, children and youth are vulnerable populations when it comes to human trafficking.

This 2013/2017 strategic plan has laid out plans that have been renemed 3Ps to ensure Kenyans are safe from the vice.

This includes: Prevention, Protecting and Prosecuting.

'Human trafficking not only involves smuggling people through borders but also harvesting their organs. Albinos in Tanzania have become victims since their body parts are sold to witchdoctors, ' says Malinowski Radoslaw founder of Awareness Against Human Trafficking HAART Kenya.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Kenya has experienced more cases of human trafficking  in East and Central Africa region.

IOM says that 17,500 cases were reported with half of them involving children.

According to Malinowski Kenya is a source, transit and destination for traffickers.

ARTS TO END SLAVERY

Kenya has reported many cases whereby girls go to Arabian countries and come back dead. 

Others are lucky enough to tell their traumatizing stories.

‘I went to Dammam, Saudi Arabia as a house help. The lady of the house had reached menopause. The husband wanted to have a baby with me but I had my fallopian tubes blocks before I travelled. The husband would not listen. He forced me to undergo a procedure to reverse the operation I had gone through,’ says 26 year old Vera (not her real name) a mother of 5.

She says that the man lied to her that they were going to Syria for a family holiday but he was planning to take her to his hospital to have her fallopian tubes unblocked.

Vera also recalls some of the times when her boss would rape her daily but finally managed to escape.

Project consultant from Awareness against Human Trafficking HAART Kenya Sophie Otiende says that girls normally still insist on going back work in the Arabian countries.

‘They are normally breadwinners and there is pressure from their family members for them to back and look for money. Poverty is also a motivating factor. Others hope their situation will be better. For some the idea of boarding a plane is exciting. Little do they know they are victims of human trafficking.’

She adds that many are victims of Gender Based Violence in their home countries so they are ready to be mistreated and exploited sexually on foreign soil, so long as they are getting paid.

Apart from poor working conditions Vera says that the owners of the house tried to sacrifice her life when she went to Libya after a rough experience in Saudi Arabia.

‘They used to do their chants in Arabic but little did they know that I understood that language. They sent two men who forcefully stripped and applied a yellow substance on my private parts. They said I would die in 2 days.’

She managed to escape again but she adds that she is ready to work again in the Arabian countries since she has to pay school fees for her children especially her first who is about to join secondary school.

‘We try to counsel them and also use art as a way to help them handle trauma, ‘says Otiende.

‘Art is therapeutic. It helps them to explore their emotions. Some cannot say in words what they went through so we ask them to draw or paint images of what they went through by using water colours, charcoal or crayon.  This helps them heal their emotional scars. These paintings and statues also help in raising awareness to the public and understand the concept of human trafficking,’ says Khayundi Bwali, a therapist at HAART Kenya during an art exhibition to educate the masses on the concept of human trafficking. 

‘When people hear about human trafficking they picture a young girl being mistreated in Saudi Arabia. However trafficking can happen locally whereby an underage is forced to work under poor pay. Human trafficking is trading people for purposes of commercial exploitation’, says Malinowski Radoslaw founder of HAART.

Artist Aggrey Abwata explains that his painting was inspired by societies which insist on not taking their children to get an education and prefer to convert them to do house chores or look after cattle.

‘My piece is set to put the message out there that that girls have potential and that they can be taken to school as well as their male counterparts Some of these issues arise due to lack of awareness in the community. Trafficking happens right in front of us yet we see not. ‘

Onyis Martin says that he did not undergo any official training to paint and that he wants to use his talent to educate the masses on the social evils that take place in the society.

‘We should not sell girls they are not products. My painting depicts darkness and how girls get emotionally drained when mistreated in these Arabian countries. It is a sad experience. It is like their souls have been sucked out of their bodies. When people see such a picture they stick it to their memory and are able to see the diverse effects of exploiting employees, adds Onyis who is also exhibiting his art in this gallery.

‘Art can be used as an agent for change and alter their perceptions for the better. Selling children to exploit them commercially is unethical, says Mike Mugo one of the visitors at the gallery who proclaims his love for art.

Kenya has been mentioned as a source, transit nation, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands research says Kenya is therefore given “Tier 2 Watch List” status (out of three tiers) by the State Department Office, as it has not demonstrated evidence of increased efforts to combat human trafficking despite passing the law.