Advocating for inclusive pandemic response 

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, dramatically impacting urban migrants and refugees worldwide, the MMC Leadership Board launched a Global Mayors Solidarity Campaign and Joint Statement on Inclusive Covid-19 Response and Recovery, calling for access to health services and economic relief, regardless of migration status, and investment in city-led solutions for an inclusive pandemic response. 

These advocacy efforts not only resulted in the UN Secretary-General recommending that national governments invest in inclusive city-led responses in a Covid-19 response policy brief, but also unlocked international funding for the creation of the MMC’s Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees.

Building local capacity for inclusive pandemic response

In the face of the pandemic, the MMC responded swiftly to the dearth of resources and information on city practices to ensure Covid-19 response reached everyone, including migrants and refugees, regardless of legal status. 

This included developing a Live Resource Guide to help cities access good practices, delivering a Training on Inclusive Covid-19 Response to over 500 participants with the World Bank and the Global Resilient Cities Network, co-hosting a consultation between UNHCR Country Offices and cities on Inclusive Covid-19 Responses in the Americas with the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner, and attracting investments to create the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees, originally focused on inclusive pandemic responses. 

Through this work, the MMC brokered technical partnerships between cities and international development and humanitarian actors, securing formal commitments for technical assistance to cities from IOM, UNHCR, and UN-Habitat, among others.