NAIROBI, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) said Thursday it has developed a digital tool to track Africa's progress toward bridging the housing deficit.

       Oumar Sylla, director (a.i) of the Regional Office for Africa UN-Habitat, told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the integrated tool will first operate in eight West African nations before being rolled out to the rest of the continent.

       "The tool will provide real-time data on the gaps and the level of progress achieved in reducing the housing deficit in Africa," Sylla said during the three-day Africa housing forum.

       The event is part of a global series of regional housing forums where housing experts, policymakers, industry leaders, representatives of international nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and other major stakeholders engage collaboratively to promote affordable housing.

       Sylla added that the tool will provide accurate data from all the stakeholders in the real estate sector and will serve as a basis for how Africa's policymakers will make the decisions and actions required to boost the supply of housing units in the continent.

       According to the UN-Habitat official, the tool will also track access to land which is a critical pillar of the housing sector.

       "Without access to land, individuals will not be able to construct houses," Sylla said, noting that Africa's housing deficit currently stands at approximately 100 million housing units.

       "The housing deficit is growing due to rapid urbanization as well as population growth," he added.