The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive challenge for cities and local administrations on the front lines, rich and poor alike. Cities are currently being tested to the extreme by this crisis, which lays bare how well cities are planned, managed, and coordinated. On the other hand, cities play a key role in implementing nationwide measures and provide laboratories for bottom-up and innovative recovery strategies. The COVID-19 shock, therefore, calls for stronger partnerships among cities, as well as partnerships among cities and partners and stakeholders at all levels.
In the spirit of South-South solidarity and to facilitate mutual support among cities and development partners, from February 2020 onwards and in coordination with multi-stakeholders, Cities Project mobilized donations and facilitated the deployment of over 1,094,000 masks, benefiting people from 22 countries.
The project team also coordinated the deployment of urgently needed medical supplies, donated by UNOSSC, including 1,000 medical protective suits and 15 non-intrusive respirators to Yuxi and Xiaogan City in China, and provided advocacy support to the donations to Iran, Italy, and Luxembourg by project partners, including the Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities Alliance Business Council (MCSR CA BC), Provincial Government of Henan, Henan Civil Aviation (HNCA), China Africa Business Council (CABC), and the IC-SHP.
