CoM SSA’s Response to Covid-19
Published: 10 Apr 2020
Events
Dear Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) Signatory City,
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the world, the CoM SSA initiative and its partners send you this letter to offer our solidarity during these trying times.
The unprecedented pace at which the global COVID-19 situation is changing is directly impacting cities and local governments and presenting unique challenges to their leaders. We understand that in this health crisis, cities will be decisive in guaranteeing the population’s well-being.
Building resilience in African cities is more critical than ever as we move forward during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenging and uncertain times are leading us to discover and implement new and innovative ways of working, as good practices emerge. The current situation has affected the working agenda of CoM SSA. For the time being, we are taking the necessary measures to reduce exposure to, and spread of the virus. It has been agreed by all CoM SSA partners to halt travel, temporarily close headquarters and field offices, and postpone all upcoming in-person meetings and events. Nevertheless, the CoM SSA Secretariat and its partners remain fully committed to tackling the climate crisis.
As the proverb goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The CoM SSA initiative, in this spirit, will continue to support local governments across the region during this time. We will provide relevant and reputable information, platforms for knowledge sharing, and connect leaders and practitioners to share good practices about how to better cope with the Covid-19 situation. As the situation changes, the CoM SSA webpage will be updated regularly to share focused, up-to-date information and tools such as:
- A webinar series on Building a Resilient Urban Africa during a Global Health Pandemic, where city leaders will share their experiences, learn from each other, share knowledge and good practices, and inspire new ways of building resilience at the local level in Africa, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
- A collection of reputable resources on the pandemic that are relevant, useful, and inspiring for local governments in Africa.
- A WhatsApp group for CoM SSA signatories to stay connected with the CoM SSA community, share experiences, and trusted sources of information related to this crisis.
We send you our very best wishes and solidarity, and do hope that you, your loved ones, and colleagues are safe and well during this time.
For any further information, please feel free to contact helpdesk@comssa.org or for technical queries and to join the WhatsApp group, please reach out to technicalhelpdesk@comssa.org with your contact details.
Yours sincerely,
The CoM SSA Secretariat
Share On Facebook 
Share On Twitter 
Send Via Email Related Articles
-
Genuine collaboration critical for African cities to combat devastating climate change
We need to take a long, hard look at the state of our planet and map a better course for our future. We need genuine collaboration, true inclusivity and authentic commitment to decrease the significant gap between promises and climate action. The recent Africa Climate Summit and UNFCCC Africa Climate Week, together with the Global Stocktake Report, highlighted that there is an urgent need to scale up a rigorous all-of-economy, all-of-society approach which leads to significant climate action this decade in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
View articles -
Urban sustainability takes centre stage: Key takeaways from Climate Chance Conference Africa 2023
The Climate Chance Conference Africa 2023 brought together over 800 actors from high-level climate experts, local governments, ministries, financiers, the private sector, and civil society.
View articles -
Highlights from Africa Climate Week: Multilevel governance, a key enabler of a new dispensation for climate ambition and action
African subnational governments have evidence-based plans and projects to accelerate climate action, but significantly increased funding is needed to implement these at scale. An unprecedented number of subnational government leaders present at the Africa Climate Week and Summit, held from the 4th to the 8th of September in Nairobi, Kenya called for the mandatory inclusion of subnational governments in the preparation of the next phase of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by 2025, re-emphasising the critical importance of multilevel governance in tackling the climate crisis.
View articles