In Nigeria, most houses in the urban centre use Fossil foils for heating and/or cooling. According to
the UN climate action: Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global
climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90
per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions.

In 2023, the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) reported that the buildings and construction sector
is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a staggering 37% of global
emissions. The production and use of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum have a
significant carbon footprint. Historically, much of the sector’s progress has centered around
reducing the “operational” carbon emissions of buildings – those emissions stemming from heating,
cooling, and lighting.

As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. This leads to global
warming and climate change. The world is now warming faster than at any point in recorded history.
Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of
nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth.

The provision of timber shelter structures wrapped with a tarpaulin plastic sheeting has been the
standard practice for provision of lifesaving shelter assistance to displaced people in Northeast
Nigeria. However, these emergency shelters need tarpaulin replenishment every 6-9 months
because of the harsh weather conditions i.e. extreme temperature, sandstorms, heavy winds,
rains and waterlogging. The temperature inside the shelters is typically uncomfortable during the
day according to feedback from households living in such shelters. Women and girls expressed
that tarpaulin sheets do not provide sufficient privacy during a consultation session in Damboa for
Dikwa-type shelter.

Over 2 million people are currently displaced, and 3 million people need shelter and NFI assistance
in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States (HRP 2024). Additionally, Nigeria has the highest number of
homeless populations in Africa according to the world population commission. Human population
is growing faster than people can afford to build houses, thus creating housing shortage.

Proposed Response
IOM has developed an innovative eco-friendly technique of building material to adapt housing to
climate change using Compressed and Stabilized Earth Bricks (CSEB) technology. In 2023, IOM has
organized an international design competition with a goal to design a low-cost, incremental, modular
and upgradable housing solution for populations disrupted by violence in rural areas of North-East
Nigeria. Housing prototypes were constructed by IOM using an innovative, locally sourced and a
more climate resilient building material; the CSEB for the walling of the houses. The CSEBs were
produced using an innovative locally fabricated machines (in Maiduguri) which are manually
operated by mixing locally available soil with 5% cement & water. Evidence has shown that the CSEB
houses provides a very good thermal comfort, fire resistance, uses less cement and zero energy
emission during production as compared to other locally available walling materials, thus reducing
the need for cooling or heating investments.

Temperature data collected inside the IOM shelter prototypes in University of Maiduguri premises
has shown that a housing unit constructed with CSEB as walling material provides thermal comfort
to its occupants unlike emergency shelters made of tarpaulin sheets as walling material, and
sandcrete buildings. Interestingly, a 10-degree Celsius difference was recorded between the CSEB
house and the emergency shelters on 19/06/2024 in in the afternoon (the room temperature of the
CSEB prototype recorded 37 degrees Celsius while the emergency shelter recorded 47 degrees
Celsius). This is very useful for off-grid housing solutions and supports climate resilience. Earth
bricks generally have a distinct natural property of “thermal inverter”, meaning when the outdoor
temperature is high, the room temperature will be low, and vice versa.

The CSEB can be used as walling material in the following shelter solutions:

1. Shelter Solution Context: Transform/upgrade of existing temporary shelters made of tarpaulin sheets to durable shelters with CSEB.
   Context/Location: Existing camps, new sites and host communities. Target Beneficiaries: IDPs, returnees and host communities.
2. Shelter Solution Context: Construction of new durable shelters units (2 single rooms with
   veranda).
   Context/Location: New sites and available spaces within the host communities.
   Target Beneficiaries: IDPs, returnees and host communities.
3. Shelter Solution Context: Construction of new incremental housing units (2 bedrooms, a
   living area and outdoor covered area).
   Context/Location: New sites and available spaces within the host
   communities.
   Target Beneficiaries: Returnees and host communities.

In addition to the pilot projects developed by IOM in University of Maiduguri, IOM has so far
transformed/upgraded 100 Dikwa-type transitional shelters (made of tarpaulins as walling
materials) into shelters made of CSEB as walling materials in Damboa local government area of
Borno state, Northeast Nigeria. The construction of over 200 shelters (2-roomed durable CSEB
shelter units) is ongoing in Adamawa state, Northeast Nigeria.