Bogota officially joins the list of beneficiaries of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF), an initiative of the Mayors Migration Council funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and other donors.
The District will use the funds from this partnership to establish the city's first center dedicated to improving the nutritional conditions of migrant and refugee infants, children, and young children by working with their caregivers to develop and deliver individualized care plans for the city's youngest migrants and refugees.
The Mayors Migration Council (MMC) is a mayor-led advocacy and advisory organization that aims to accelerate ambitious global action on migration and displacement through city diplomacy and practice to create the conditions for migrants and displaced people in urban contexts and the communities that receive them to thrive.
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The Colombian capital is currently home to 500,000 Venezuelans - more than any other Colombian city - and 47% of these people are women and girls. "Our city has made a commitment to ensure the socioeconomic inclusion of the most vulnerable Bogotanos," said Claudia López Hernández, Mayor of Bogotá. "With the support of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees, we are strengthening the determination of the Bogota we are building, which promotes the inclusion of all people. That is the path to sustainability and development."
Below is a tweet from the MMC announcing the start of the cooperation with Bogota and highlighting a comment from Mayor Claudia Lopez:
“With the support of the #GlobalCitiesFund, we are strengthening @Bogota's commitment to defend the rights of all residents—especially our youngest and newest residents—to access critical public services," said Mayor @ClaudiaLopez on #WorldCitiesDay. 🇨🇴
— Mayors Migration Council (@MayorsMigration) October 31, 2022
👉https://t.co/QmE1dSqXddpic.twitter.com/H8HznNWYKd
The objective of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees is to directly finance cities to implement the inclusive programs they design, thereby establishing precedents of fiscal feasibility in city governments that are often disregarded by donors with low-risk tolerance.
In this case, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá through the work of the Secretariat of Social Integration of Bogotá, with assistance from Cafam, will concentrate its work in the neighborhoods of Santa Fe and Los Mártires, both with a high concentration of extremely vulnerable migrant and refugee residents.
According to the Mayors Migration Council's own research, the obstacles faced by Venezuelan refugees in Colombian cities in accessing public services have been compounded by the impact of COVID-19 on local economies. While international responses have focused on short-term needs, the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees supports city-driven initiatives that promote the long-term inclusion of displaced persons.
