The Centre of Excellence for Housing was created to pool urban data, programmes and policies at the national level. This centre was launched on 8 July with the aim of creating an analytical framework for the housing sector in a forward-looking vision.

The scale of housing demand throughout the WAEMU area has become a headache. Thus, the Commission initiated this project with a view to strengthening the subregional approach and providing appropriate solutions to the problems. The Habitat Centre of Excellence for the Subregion is an institution for action research and the development of new skills. During the launch at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University during a workshop, Commissioner Filiga Michel Sawadogo, on behalf of the President of the WAEMU Commission, indicated that the center will take care of issues related to urban planning, housing, land management, basic urban services, financing and housing production. Bernard Zoma, vice-president of Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, the institution responsible for implementing the project, asked for everyone's involvement to guide the activities.