The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) of Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities wins the Scroll of Honour 2021

Cairo, 21 September 2021 – The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) of Egypt is awarded the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour, one of the world’s most prestigious prizes presented to individuals, cities, organizations, and projects working on sustainable urbanization.

Among 170 nominations from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, NUCA received the prize along with four other organizations from Kenya, China, Estonia, and Chile. The winners were selected based on their outstanding contributions to urban development including innovative urban COVID-19 responses, reducing urban greenhouse gas emissions, and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.

NUCA was selected for its pivotal role in the implementation of Egypt’s social housing programme which provided 660,000 units ensuring the fair provision of adequate housing in terms of location, connectivity, affordability, and services such as schools, hospitals, playgrounds, and green spaces in 21 newly built cities, serving over 3 million citizens. The programme caters to different levels of income and offers accessible services including flexible payment schemes to ensure inclusivity and integration. It also targets the inclusion of people with special needs and increased ownership by women.

“Everyone has a fundamental right to housing, and the selection of the New Urban Communities Authority is a recognition of its efforts and of the vision of the Ministry of Housing in providing adequate, healthy and safe housing for all,” said Erfan Ali, UN-Habitat’s Regional Representative of Arab States. “I would like to seize the opportunity to congratulate them for their tremendous efforts and impactful work”.

NUCA will receive the Scroll of Honour award, a plaque engraved with its name and achievement, during the Global Observance of World Habitat Day, which will be celebrated on Monday 4 October 2021 in Yaounde, Cameroon, as part of Urban October “for a Better Urban Future for everyone”.