Box 4.8: Enabling community-led responses to the pandemic

Box 4.8: Enabling community-led responses to the pandemic

Alongside the governance measures adopted by cities with the involvement and support of non-state actors, community groups and civil society have themselves played a central role in strengthening pandemic response strategies and driving citizen-led solutions. While non-governmental solutions were often seen in cities in low-income countries where the weakness, or even absence, of an effective state strategy resulted in NGOs and communities filling the gap, there have also been notable community initiatives in higher income countries as well.162 For example, Forlì Città Aperta — a volunteering association established in the Italian city of Forlì a decade ago — committed to inform all migrants, regardless of their residency status, about the measures to be followed during lockdown and how to stay safe. A fundraising drive was also promoted for those who did not meet the national or local criteria to receive financial assistance if they lost their livelihoods.163 Similarly, in the Swedish city of Botkyrka a community association called the Pakistan Cultural Society used its radio channel to disseminate information on COVID-19 to residents who due to language barriers had not been able to access official health bulletins and updates.164

Humanitarian Initiative’s global survey, some 88.2 per cent of respondents in Singapore were “confident” or had “total confidence” in the ability of authorities to control the pandemic, compared to just 18 per cent in the US.165

To foster trust, communications, health guidance and legislation must be clear, transparent and consistent: opaque or contradictory messaging can undermine public faith in the necessity and value of observing restrictions. Cities and subnational therefore have an important role to play in enhancing participation and access to relevant information. In the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, for example, thanks in part to the development of innovative participatory mechanisms by municipalities before the pandemic began,166 an agile and engaged communication network was already in place that city authorities were able to exploit throughout the crisis to announce regulations, raise awareness and reach at-risk groups such as children, slum dwellers and persons with disabilities with targeted information drives.167 As with other aspects of governance and service provision, it is essential that information is messaged effectively to all of the urban population, with no group or community excluded due to discrimination, language barriers or poverty. Many cities have tailored specific campaigns, often in partnership with NGOs or local groups, to reach immigrant communities and other minorities who may otherwise be exposed to greater risks of infection if this information is not available to them.

As discussed earlier in this chapter, some local authorities have developed new online channels of communication and consultation with citizens and stakeholders to promote participation and come to a better understanding of community To foster trust, communications, health guidance and legislation must be clear, transparent and consistent: opaque or contradictory messaging can undermine public faith in the necessity and value of observing restrictions

A training in how to make sanitizer in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal © UNHabitat