2. Kerugoya-Kutus Urban Diagnostics

1.5.2 Lessons from COVID-19

Drawing upon the lessons learned from the current COVID-19 crisis, these have informed the proposed GBI projects (in Chapter 5) and Sector Action Plans (section 4.1) to ensure long-term planning, green recovery and resilience is embedded in the UEP. This is an opportunity to get insights into a future fully-fledged climate change crisis and KKM has a critical role to play in addressing these challenges. Some initial key lessons include:

> Emphasising the need for adaptive, urban integrated plans to ensure sustainable urban development and infrastructure provision, including appropriate housing for all that can help minimise impact from high risks. > Redefining green spaces and the way town centres are designed for business. > Strengthening preparedness and emergency response capacity is critical. This means better preparedness in terms of financing, service delivery and business continuity, including budgeting for future crises, emergency operations centres, capacity building, drills, and human resources redeployment plans. > Prioritising policies to confront spatial, social and economic exclusion with the aim of cushioning the vulnerable in the face of another shock. > Through the Wezesha Programme, continue mobilising and empowering women, youth, and other vulnerable groups by creating new employment opportunities and engaging them in economic activities through technical support and financing. > Ensuring resilient supply chains for agricultural and manufacturing sectors focusing on local inputs to ensure food security, and safeguard export-oriented products. > Improving marketing efficiency through adoption of innovative processes that connect buyers and sellers. This may include adoption of technology to promote marketing and information sharing, formalizing product delivery services etc. > Leveraging information technology (IT) systems to better match the required transport demand with excess supply in real time and provide travel pattern visibility, helping passenger and logistics operations become nimbler considering a quickly evolving context. > Making sure public awareness campaigns are consistently available to all in a format and language understandable to all.