Other Resources - Report RPD on Pro-poor Housing Finance
 

To download the RPD report click here.

Summary of the Regional Policy Dialogue (RPD)

The Regional Policy Dialogue, which was part of the joint UNESCAP – NHB (India) project on pro-poor housing finance, was as a first brainstorming meeting on pro-poor housing finance issues in Asia and the Pacific. It was attended by senior representatives of both formal and NGO/MFI/community-based housing finance institutions and international organizations. For most participants it was the first time that they discussed pro-poor housing finance issues in a forum where both formal and NGO/MFI/community-based housing finance institutions were present. Discussions focused on:

  • Critical and emerging issues in housing finance in Asia and the Pacific,

  • How to make housing finance more accessible to the poor, and on

  • Possibilities for promoting a regional exchange of experience and networking.

Outcomes:

Participants agreed that the provision of large-scale housing finance to low-income groups is a vital emerging issue in Asia and the Pacific. Pre-requisites for succeeding in this immense task would have to include:

  • Overhauls in legal and policy frameworks,

  • Capacity building of stakeholders at national and local levels, and

  • In-depth research and comparative analysis of pro-poor housing policies, institutions and practices.

Participants agreed that in order to establish successful pro-poor housing finance policies and mechanisms, innovative approaches adapted to circumstances of low-income groups were needed (such as, for example, lending to the poor as community groups rather than individually). Based on first successes by pioneering housing finance institutions in Asia, the need to link formal housing finance institutions (who can raise the funds) with NGO/MFI/community-based housing finance mechanisms (who can provide sustained access to poor communities) was broadly acknowledged. Participants regarded the establishment of a regional network on pro-poor housing finance consisting of both formal and NGO/MFI/community-based housing finance institutions as a key mechanism for exchanging experience and pooling resources across Asia and the Pacific. UNESCAP, UN-HABITAT and NHB were therefore requested to organize a high-level regional meeting to establish the regional network.

To learn more about the joint UNESCAP, UN-HABITAT and NHB (India) Project on Pro-poor Housing Finance click here.