TSF supports the injured from Tripoli
In the Djebel Nafusa region
– After arriving in Jadu and Yafran on 25th August via the border post at Dehibat in southern Tunisia, the members of the TSF team immediately coordinated with the organisations on the ground, and evaluated their needs.
Satellite connections were established from 25th August, to the benefit of the medical establishments and organisations charged with treating the injured that have been evacuated from Tripoli. Through the installation of reliable and fast Internet and telephone connections, TSF reinforces the capacities of the hospitals and the Libyan Red Cross along the route towards Tripoli. The telecoms needs are still significant in the western region of Libya: the local network is not functioning.
Thus, the day of their arrival, TSF installed a mobile satellite connection (using BGAN) in the hospital at Jadu, dedicated for use by hospital personnel and medical NGOs on site, of which the NGO IMC (International Medical Corps). This is the most important hospital in the region, which continues to receive numerous injured from Tripoli. The support of TSF was solicited by the medical establishment for the opening of this Broadband connection, in order to optimise the exchange of crucial information.
On August 25th, TSF also established a fixed satellite connection (VSAT) in the “media centre” at Yafran, which is open to the entire humanitarian community. Equally, the town hospital is connected to the VSAT. The connection benefits personnel of the establishment and is also available to medical NGOs- Doctors Without Borders is notably based in Yafran.
Elsewhere, TSF has installed a second fixed connection (using KA-SAT) in the Libyan Red Cross offices in Nalut; a connection established for use by the humanitarian community as a whole.
The role of TSF is also, when requested, to place telecom and satellite materials at the disposal of aid workers. The TSF team has also provided two satellite telephones (IsatPhone Pro) to the emergency coordinator of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and to the president of the Libyan Red Cross (who is also the Director of the hospital in Nalut).
Depending on the needs assessed throughout the mission, we will also connect other towns along the route towards Tripoli (using BGAN and VSAT technology).
About Télécoms Sans Frontières
Télécoms Sans Frontières: the leading humanitarian NGO specialized in emergency telecommunications
th August 2011
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
