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Better Shelter

The temporary shelter developed by UNHCR, Ikea Foundation and Better Shelter in the summer of 2015 will be delivered to thousands of families in refugee camps.

The Better Shelter is an innovative temporary shelter, designed as a result of a research and development project undertaken by UNHCR, Ikea Foundation and Better Shelter.

The temporary shelter is composed of several basic elements, including a lightweight steel frame, roof and wall panels, door and windows, floor covering, solar energy system (lamp and telephone charge) and an anchoring system.

Kobe Refugee Camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia - a young Somali refugee stands with her baby in the doorway of her new home, an IKEA Foundation funded prototype ‘Refugee Housing Unit’ shelter. Around 20 families are testing these new shelters to ensure they offer dignified and secure housing for refugees. Photo © Ikea Foundation — **Top**: Hussein with daughters and grand daughter, Kawergosk Refugee Camp, Erbil, Iraq, March 2015. Photo © Better Shelter. **Above**: Kobe Refugee Camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia – a young Somali refugee stands with her baby in the doorway of her new home, an IKEA Foundation funded prototype ‘Refugee Housing Unit’ shelter. Around 20 families are testing these new shelters to ensure they offer dignified and secure housing for refugees. Photo © Ikea Foundation

Prototypes have been tested and evaluated by UNHCR with respect to the personal, social and cultural expectations of the people that it aspires to rehabilitate, as well as the environmental, logistic and financial framework it is designed for.

The Better Shelter is designed with special attention to transport volume, weight, price, safety as well as health and comfort. It can be assembled on site without additional tools and equipment, and is fitted with a solar panel and lamp to provide light during the dark hours. The expected lifespan of the shelter is three years.

Production of shelters is about to begin and in the summer of 2015 UNHCR will start delivering shelters to thousands of families in refugee camps.

Dollo Ado, Refugees

A Somali child walks past a row of prototype ‘Refugee Housing Unit’ shelters, in Kobe Refugee Camp, Dollo Ado, Ethiopia. Kobe is home to over 35,000 Somali refugees. Photo © Ikea Foundation