More than 100 Mayors and senior officials of French local authorities who are engaged in partnerships with cities in Africa are calling for more solidarity in combatting COVID-19. "This global health crisis has and will have severe social and economic consequences, of which the magnitude is still unknown today. The time will come to assess and rethink our lifestyles, our economic and social development priorities and the preservation of resources".
Cités Unies France published a column in Le Monde, signed by more than one hundred French mayors. The column calls for solidarity among cities and countries facing COVID-19 and recall the engagement of the French network of local authorities, its members, and the world network of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). "The African partners are facing several challenges in the fight to counter the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: health and sanitation systems are fragile; the density of the population in urban areas is very high, also in areas where communities are situated who have been displaced following on humanitarian crises, armed conflicts or terrorist attacks; and the absence of detection tests is considered a major problem. Furthermore the unverified belief that the impact on the African continent would be less due to its warmer climate and youthful population lowers the needed vigilance."
Please find more information below:
https://www.cites-unies-france.org/Cites-Unies-France-Tribune-des-100-maires-de-France-pour-l-Afrique
https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2020/04/23/covid-19-nous-elus-locaux-de-france-sommes-particulierement-inquiets-pour-le-continent-africain_6037567_3212.html