Affordable Housing Project – Pakistan

As the world moves out of lockdown and back towards a more recognizable normal, one major project that participants will be delighted to see picked back up is the UNOPS Affordable Housing Project.

The UNOPS affordable housing agreement is part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s National Housing Strategy to build at least 500,000 housing units in the country of Pakistan.

This project, which will take just 10 years to deliver, is ambitious in its scale but is by no means the only one of its kind. In fact, UNOPS Social Impact Investing Initiative (S3I), which will also see similar projects delivered in the Caribbean, Ghana, India, and Kenya.

As part of the announcement, the world learned that all of the 500,000 new affordable homes built will include some of the latest renewable energy and disease preventative technology – including solar panel roofs, waste-to-energy technology and mosquito killing coatings.

That’s where UNOPS partners, Vectorcide International Ltd, come in. The innovative British company has developed world-leading nano-encapsulated solutions to prevent malaria, dengue fever, and a host of other diseases.

Spokesperson for Vectorcide International Ltd  Ian Domville  says: ‘We’re delighted to be able to work on such an important project as this. The provision of affordable housing in countries like Pakistan is vital in its own right, but add to that the fact that these houses are being built with solar panels and our trademarked mosquito killing coating, and you have an absolutely astounding commitment to human health and development that we’re truly honoured and privileged to be a part of.’

Malaria, a life-threatening disease that is transmitted through the bite of the female mosquito, is both preventable and curable although in countries like Pakistan, applying a mosquito-proof coating to the buildings themselves is a cost-effective and extremely desirable way of treating the problem.

As part of the ground-breaking agreement, the government of Pakistan will provide the land to build on, as well as the basic infrastructure including sewage, electricity and water connections. The mammoth task of organising all of this is a credit to UNOPS and all its partners in its achievement.

The obvious benefits to the people of Pakistan cannot be overstated – this is simply one of the most important and exciting projects to be announced by the global partners in recent times.