After a long prototyping phase, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees placed an order of 10,000 Refugee Housing Units — also referred to as Better Shelter units — for its operations in Iraq. While the new shelters hold the promise of significantly improving the conditions of life of refugees in emergency settings, they also mark a turning point in the way UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations can run partnerships with the private sector.
The shelters were designed to fill an existing gap within UNHCR’s set of housing solutions between tents used in emergency settings and transitional housing. While a single unit can last up to three years, its steel frame is guaranteed up to 10 years, leaving refugees with the option to replace damaged parts with local materials or spare parts provided by the manufacturing company. At $1,150 each, the new shelters are more costly than the tents, but their modularity makes them cheaper in the long term.
Each unit comes in two boxes, and can be erected in a few hours with no other tools than those provided in the kit. The assembling process isn’t much different from that of a tent, but the final product is meant to look like a small house, with four walls, a door and four windows. With a 17.5-square-meter floor space, the shelters are suitable for a family of five or six. A photovoltaic system provides up to four hours of light per day.
About the author
Flavie Halaisflaviehalais
Flavie Halais is a freelance journalist based in Montreal, Canada, covering international issues and cities through a social lens. Her work has appeared in WIRED, the Guardian, Le Monde Afrique, Jeune Afrique, the Correspondent ,and Devex.
