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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo launched today the Public Pulse Analysis “People-Municipality Interaction in Times of Crisis: A COVID-19 Case Study” in a virtual presentation of main findings.
The survey, which was conducted in five municipalities, Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, Podujevë/Podujevo, Prizren, Rahovec/Orahovac, and Zveçan/Zvečan, highlights the challenges these municipalities have experienced during the pandemic and people’s satisfaction with support and communication, as well as public service provision and the availability of resources in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are some of the main findings:
· Overall, 52% respondents of the five municipalities represented in this study were dissatisfied with the municipal support given to them or their families and 42% were dissatisfied with he support given to their communities
· When asked what should their municipality do to support those affected by Covid 19, the majority of respondents (61%) said that municipalities should provide financial assistance to those affected by COVID-19 and to the families in need, distribute food and hygiene packages to families in need (15%), and provide free medical services and medicine for all people (9%).
· About 54% of all respondents felt that they had been kept somewhat or very well informed about the pandemic by their municipalities. This was further confirmed through focus group discussions. Additionally, 95% of Kosovo Albanians but only 74% of Kosovo Serbs stated they received information in their native language.
· Focus group discussions revealed that non-majority communities were dissatisfied with this aspect of the information dissemination and felt discriminated when material was not available in their native language. Non-majority communities (Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo Bosniaks, Kosovo Turks, Kosovo Roma, Kosovo Ashkali and Kosovo Egyptian) also disapproved of municipalities’ communication which mainly focused on using social media accounts to inform their residents, bypassing their official websites and other communication channels, which hindered reaching the older generations in an efficient manner.
· The average degree of being informed by their municipalities about the COVID-19 pandemic is 3.3 points across all five municipalities (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being very well informed). The average degree of satisfaction with the municipal support received for themselves or their families amounts to only 2.5 points in comparison.
· Local or Kosovo-wide television announcements, Facebook, as well as family and friends were the top three sources for COVID-19 related information among residents in all five municipalities.
· More than half of all respondents believed that their municipalities’ financial and infrastructural resources for COVID-19 response were sufficient.
· Generally, more than 70% and up to 84% of the respondents said the municipality was efficient or very efficient in providing most public services such as: waste management, sewage management, local road maintenance, local transportation, water supply, lighting maintenance, and Family Medical Centers´ (FMC) provision of health care throughout the pandemic
The Analysis also contain a list of recommendations in the areas of financial assistance and subsidies, communication channels and language used, residents’ engagement in municipal decision-making and budget prioritizing, and financial, infrastructural, and human resources and provision of public services.
You can find the report in three languages at this link: https://bit.ly/30RQvwm
The Public Pulse Analysis is based on a research which included 500 survey interviews which were conducted in March 2021 and nine focus group discussions which were held from April to June 2021.
Public Pulse project is generously funded by American people through USAID.
For more information, please contact:
Burbuqe Dobranja, UNDP Communications Associate
Phone: (038) 249 066 ext. 410; mobile: 049 720 800 e-mail: burbuqe.dobranja@undp.org
Danijela Mitić, UNDP Communication Associate
Phone: (038) 249 066 ext. 412; mobile: 049 720 824 e-mail: danijela.mitic@undp.org
Vjosa Rakovica Xhemaj, UNDP Information Management Officer
Phone: +383 49 709 050 e-mail: vjosa.rakovica.xhemaj@undp.org
Tringë Sokoli, Social Media and Communications Associate
Phone: +383 49 659 016 e-mail: tringe.sokoli@undp.org@undp.org
