News & Press

Build Change, the global expert on disaster-resilient housing in informal markets, announces two new partnerships that shift power to women and people of color to tackle the major barriers to climate-resilient housing.

Women throughout Asia and the Pacific are playing a pivotal role in understanding, preventing, and reducing disaster risk in the world’s most disaster-prone region. In 2024, six inspiring women have been chosen as finalists for the Women’s International Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (WIN DRR) Rising Star Award. Mediatrich Triani N. (Novianingsih), known as Ani, from Surakarta, Indonesia is the Indonesia Country Programme Manager for Build Change, a women-led global social innovator with a vision to make every home disaster resilient. Liva Shrestha from Kathmandu in Nepal is an accomplished structural engineer leading the charge for resilient housing in Nepal and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Build Change is among 35 innovative, mission-driven organizations and changemakers selected from over 1,700 applicants from more than 87 countries. Winners in these award categories, including the prestigious .ORG of the Year, will be announced as part of the in-person .ORG Impact Awards celebration on October 8. The winner of the .ORG of the Year award will receive a donation of $50,000 USD while the other category winners will each receive $10,000 USD.

After the recent devastation of Typhoon Gaemi that was intensified by a Southeast Monsoon, houses in Greater Metro Manila was left submerged and destroyed. Today, Architect Sam Lisay from Build Change teaches us how to prepare our houses before the next disaster strikes. (Story available in Tagalog)

Build Change welcomes a new board member and two new members of its senior management team: Susie Berg, Director and Senior Corporate Counsel at Autodesk was appointed to the board of directors effective February 6, 2024; Abby Robinson joined Build Change in February as Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Angie Henderson Moncada joined as VP of Communications earlier this month. These new leaders provide expertise that will enable Build Change to deliver impact and raise money by enhancing digital client experience, deepening community-driven collaboration, and sharing powerful stories.

In 2001, a devastating earthquake in Gujarat, India, destroying nearly a million homes and killing over 20,000 people, brought to light a critical, often overlooked aspect of disaster recovery: the resilience of our homes. This event not only shattered lives but also exposed the vulnerability of our built environment to natural disasters.

Build Change is highlighted for its proactive approach to resiliency, focusing on reinforcing homes in vulnerable areas like Medellín, Colombia, before disasters strike, which proves to be more carbon-efficient and cost-effective than rebuilding. This organization’s work is essential in areas with informal dwellings prone to earthquakes, demonstrating the value of pre-emptive measures in disaster management and sustainable construction.

Build Change plays a crucial role in the World Economic Forum’s focus on sustainable construction in informal settlements, particularly by collaborating with microfinance institutions in the Philippines to support affordable and incremental housing improvements for low- and middle-income families. This initiative is part of a broader effort to ensure housing in global urban informal settlements is safe, accessible, and sustainable, addressing the needs of the 1.1 billion people living in such areas while emphasizing climate-friendly, affordable, and inclusive construction practices.

The Cities Alliance Secretariat’s position paper, resulting from a working group on sustainable construction for the urban poor, emphasizes the need for affordable, low-carbon, and circular construction methods to support sustainable urban development. The paper highlights the role of governments in creating supportive policies and regulations, while focusing on the circular economy’s principles to address challenges such as CO2 emissions, advocating for inclusivity, affordability, and environmental sustainability in construction practices.

On 4 December 2023, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) released a position paper titled ‘Social Impact across the Built Environment: Prioritising People throughout the building life cycle’. This paper outlines a framework for the building and construction sector to focus on social impact at every stage of the building life cycle, aiming to achieve an equitable and resilient future for all.