Crisis in the Horn of Africa
TSF intervenes in the Dadaab and Garissa regions
In response to the acute food crisis that is now affecting the north of Kenya and its neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) is dispatching a team to the affected region of Dadaab, north-east Kenya. More than 10 million people are directly threatened by the famine prominent in three countries in the Horn of Africa, Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, which have been hit by the worst period of drought for 60 years. Every day, thousands are pouring into the humanitarian camps in Dadaab (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo), which today shelter close to 400,000 refugees; more than four times the predicted initial capacity. TSF immediately coordinated with cooperation organizations for development, notably the NGO Veterinarians Without Borders Belgium (VSF), in Nairobi, for the preparation of their operations before their arrival. VSF is an international NGO that supports local farming cooperative projects worldwide, and the impact of its work with livestock breeders and farmers in southern countries is very important. Thus, in the context of the food crisis, TSF has chosen to work alongside these organisations, to reinforce their programs in the field of new technologies to aid the affected populations. As soon as the TSF team touches down, they will set up a crisis centre in the Garissa region, several kilometres from the Dadaab camps, to the benefit of the international NGOs. TSF will establish a technical and telecoms infrastructure necessary for effective emergency operations (Internet and telephone connections, computers and peripheral IT materials…). Equally, the TSF team will carry out an assessment of the telecom needs within the new camps in the Dadaab region. The first collaboration between TSF and VSF was in July 2005, in response to a food crisis that hit Niger and affected more than three million people. TSF, in cooperation with VSF Belgium, opened an emergency telecoms centre and priority telephone lines in Dakoro, southern Niger, to the benefit of all organisations working in the field. The TSF centres that will be established in north-east Kenya by our expert teams will be open to all humanitarian workers in the area. It will allow them to communicate, and coordinate their operations in the heart of the affected region. TSF will maintain the connections even after the first emergency phase is over, as the resolution of a crisis takes time and requires the establishing of sustainable, long term solutions. This mission is made possible thanks to the support of TSF’s partners: the Vodafone Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, Inmarsat, Eutelsat, AT&T, PCCW Global, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Vizada, IT Cup, CFE-CGC/UNSA, the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission (ECHO), the Communauté d’Agglomération de Pau and the Regional Council of Aquitaine
About Télécoms Sans Frontières Télécoms Sans Frontières: the leading humanitarian NGO specialised in emergency telecommunications
With its 24-hour monitoring centre and relying on its operational bases in Europe, Central America and Asia, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) crews of IT and telecoms specialists can intervene anywhere in the world in less than 24 hours. After a sudden onset disaster or conflict, they can set up in a matter of minutes a satellite-based telecoms centre offering broadband Internet, phone and fax lines. These centres enable emergency NGOs, the United Nations and local authorities to communicate right at the heart of a crisis. They also facilitate the coordination of aid efforts. In parallel, TSF runs humanitarian calling operation to offer support and assistance to affected civilians, giving them a link with the outside world from which they would be otherwise completely cut off. Beyond emergency response, TSF is also engaged in ongoing prevention and development programs, including technology centres for local populations, and support to projects in collaboration with stakeholders from multiple sectors (health, agriculture, education…). TSF also organizes general training sessions in emergency telecommunications for other relief organizations and national disaster response agencies in order to reinforce the efficiency of humanitarian action worldwide. Emergency kits are provided to country offices, made of satellite communications and IT equipment and including power supplies, so that when commercial infrastructure is cut, offices can stay connected, report and coordinate with the central agency. These long-term education and training projects lead to positive impacts in economic development as well as capacity building of humanitarian organizations. Since its creation in 1998, TSF deployed to 60 countries and assisted more than 600 relief organizations and hundreds of thousands of victims. TSF is partner of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO). In 2006, TSF became a partner of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). TSF was designated “First Emergency Telecoms Responder” within the United Nations Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC). Télécoms Sans Frontières is also a working group member of the United Nations emergency telecoms body (WGET) and a member of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA).
For more information, consult:
www.tsfi.org
