Kingsley U.N. Chikwendu

Affordable housing has been what many, especially the low income earners had hoped for even before the burst of COVID-19 pandemic. Many country’s economies were pinned, with several businesses in an enforced lockdown. Many lost their jobs, they face greater challenges, one of which is the difficulty to pay rent and other daily expenses to cater for themselves and families.

Lack of proper approach or plans for unforeseen contingencies which the government is terribly bad at, may have seen the country more than affected by the virus than it probably should. However, the good news is, there still time to make plans in anticipation for the future, there is still hope for affordable projects like the 300,000 housing construction scheme under the Economic Sustainability Plan by the federal government to be developed and delivered.

These type of affordable housing to be developed by the government will be hoped that it will offer more in features like basic amenities, low maintenance, sustainability, energy efficiency, amongst other basics. When a government is willing to do more for the provision of affordable housing, it will not only be building such houses but, it comes with a mindset or mentality that you are rebuilding communities because, affordable housing is seen as a way of strengthen a neighborhood.

With the government doing this, they are not only responding to residents and communities’ needs for affordable housing, they are improving the lives of the masses. Affordable housing empowers a community.

Another important amenity affordable housing promotes is health. If residents have access to quality affordable housing, they will be living more in a preventive health care environment than one where they will be taken for emergency treatments to healthcare centers often.