News and Events

About Healthabitat’s Housing for Health programme

Healthabitat received the World Habitat Award in 2011 for its Housing for Health programme in Australia, an approach that aims to improve the health of Indigenous people in Australia, by ensuring they have access to safe and well functioning housing and an improved living environment. The Nine Healthy Living Practices pioneered through the project are now part of current federal and state government policy and knowledge gained through the Housing for Health projects has been used to develop a national Indigenous housing design code that respects cultural traditions and norms … more

London roundtable discussion

A roundtable discussion on housing and and health was led by Mr Paul Pholeros, Director of Healthabitat, who introduced Healthabitat’s Housing for Health programme and its Nine Healthy Living Practices to an audience of invited experts and practitioners within the housing, health and public health sectors in the UK. His pioneering work has been recognised by the Australian government for his services to health and housing issues in the Indigenous community.

An overview of health and housing issues in the UK was also given by guest speaker, Ms Viv Mason, Principal Consultant of BRE, followed by a presentation of The Liverpool Healthy Homes Programme, presented by Mr Ian Watson of Liverpool City Council.

The roundtable, held on August 21st at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in London, included discussions on the key principles of the Housing for Health approach that may inform the work of participants in their local context as well as providing an opportunity for the participants to share their local own experiences. Through group exercises and exchange, participants discussed how the link between health and housing can be more firmly established in both government and popular understanding in the UK.

International Study Visit, Nepal

From 30th October to 3rd November 2012, an international study visit will be carried out to the Village Sanitation Project in Dhulikhel, Nepal. The event is being hosted by Community Health and Development Society (CHDS), Nepal, in partnership with Healthabitat, Australia and will be attended by a selected group of practitioners involved in the housing, health and environmental design fields, invited specifically for their knowledge and experience in these areas.

The Village Sanitation Project in Nepal embodies many of the core principles of Healthabitat and the Housing for Health approach undertaken in Australia. The prime aim of the project is to improve health through improvements to the living environment. Healthabitat and local partner CHDS Nepal work closely with participating villages to build toilets, building capacity in all stages of the project – budgeting, planning, design, construction planning, construction and evaluation. Biogas is produced from toilet and animal waste to provide a free, clean source of cooking fuel, reducing the indoor smoke from cooking fires that leads to high rates of respiratory illness as well as addressing wider environmental concerns.

The international study visit will provide an opportunity for participants to exchange knowledge and experience, become part of a community of practice, and gain an in-depth understanding of the key aspects of Healthabitat’s award-winning Housing for Health approach and transfer of its key principles to the Village Sanitation Project in Nepal.

For further information on Healthabitat’s Housing for Health programme, click here.