In times like these, when the whole world is affected, we need to do what we can to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, Covid-19. A virus knows no boundaries, but moves from one person to another. Therefore, what happens locally is absolutely crucial in stopping the spread globally.
It is with a combination of pride and gratitude to find out that Swedish aid is working and that ICLD strongly contributes, through municipal partnerships, to municipalities effectives local organization in in their efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
How do we know this?
ICLD receives reports from different parts of the world where we can see how the partnerships have made a difference. About how knowledge and experience from municipal partnerships help in the global fight against the spread of viruses.
To cite a few examples, we see that the internal working methods and strategies that were developed within the Malmö-Lusaka partnership in Zambia contributed to the Lusaka municipal government acting quickly in response to providing information about Covid-19 to the citizens, through an effective collaboration across departmental boundaries.
The municipal partnership between Växjö and JB Marks in South Africa points to the fact that it has provided tools to cooperate in a crisis between political opposition and the majority, which means that the municipality has been able to act quickly in reducing dissemination. Read more
We can also see how the management systems and reporting paths created for Dengue fever within the municipal partnership between Region Västerbotten and Yogakarta in Indonesia are now being used to communicate about Covid-19 in the country. Read more
It is through funding from Sida that ICLD can create the conditions to strengthen the local ability to fight both pandemics and poverty in all its forms. It is good for the individual municipalities, it is good for Sweden and for the countries where the partnership is implemented, and it is good for the world!
Johan Lilja, Secretary General of ICLD
The importance of local democracy in times of challenges- letter to our partners and friends