Local utilities all over the world face unprecedented challenges in dealing with the Corona Virus. German utilities have exchanged their respective experiences and the measures they have taken in order to support one another and learn from one another. The German Association of Local Public Utilities has compiled, written down, and translated these experiences into English so that they may benefit utilities worldwide.
Category: Crisis Management
Tackling coronavirus (COVID‑19) Contributing to a global effort
On its microsite about COVID-19 the OECD is compiling data, analysis and recommendations on a range of topics to address the emerging health, economic and societal crisis, facilitate co-ordination, and contribute to the necessary global action when confronting this enormous collective challenge.
In addition it offers “a country policy tracker”.
What are countries doing to contain the spread of the coronavirus? How are countries helping people, small businesses and the economy to weather the crisis and beyond? This Country Policy Tracker helps you to navigate the global response.
In addition – on city level – a summary can be found in the briefing note on
Cities policy responses
https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/…
Cities may be better equipped than the rest of their country to respond to the COVID19 crisis due to their well-developed health care facilities. However, cities are densely populated places where people live and gather, thus at risk of spreading the virus due to the close proximity among residents and challenges to implement social distancing. The briefing note provides examples of measures taken by cities to respond to the current coronavirus epidemic, clustered around six categories: i) communication and awareness raising, ii) workplace and commuting; iii) social distance; iv) vulnerable groups; v) local service delivery; and vi) support to business.
If you wish to submit examples of how your cities respond to COVID-19, please contact
The impact of COVID-19 in informal settlements – are we paying enough attention?
As we in the global North brace ourselves for the coronavirus pandemic we are being told to wash our hands (for 20 seconds!) and self-isolate if sick. But what if you cannot do either of those things? One billion people live in slums or informal settlements where water for basic needs is in short supply – let alone 20 seconds worth – and where space is constrained and rooms are often shared. Yet discussion about vulnerability in these contexts has been startlingly absent.
A recent IIED blog raised the issue of poor infrastructure in ‘slums’ and informal settlements and rightly concluded that an overhaul of urban planning and development is needed to bring about improved infrastructure and public health. But in the meantime, we need to consider how COVID-19 could impact people living in densely populated and unsanitary environments, and what could mitigate the worst of these impacts. This is challenging as the health and social needs of these populations are often invisible.
So what are the health experiences, challenges and priorities of people in informal settlements? How do residents organise to address existing health threats? And how does this provide a basis for a COVID-19 response? These are the questions IDS and SLURC have been exploring as part of an ESRC research project on post-Ebola urban health in Sierra Leone, and also in a new GCRF funded hub on Accountability for Informal Urban Equity – ARISE.
Some of the insights from this research and some potential lessons for COVID-19.