A rapid response ICT team is working to re-establish satellite and radio-based communications systems in Pakistan to protect aid workers and help deliver food, medicine and supplies.
Today marks World Humanitarian Day and, according to the United Nations Foundation, humanitarian workers are on the ground delivering emergency assistance to the tens of thousands who have been left stranded without access to food or clean drinking water. This after torrential rains led to severe flooding across the northwest region of the country.
Through the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership, an emergency team of telecoms specialists from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Telecoms Sans Frontieres has been deployed to provide technical support for UN and other agencies on the scene.
The WFP's IT Emergency Preparedness and Response team is supporting the five national ICT staff in Islamabad currently managing the operation.
Dane Novarlic, a member of the WFP's Fast IT and Telecommunications Emergency and Support Team, and co-ordinator of the emergency telecoms cluster, is managing activities between humanitarian groups and the Pakistan government.
Based in Pakistan's central Punjab province, he said in a podcast yesterday the main focus is supporting the safety and security of humanitarian staff, to enable effective relief efforts.
“Security health communications and data services with general IT support are basically being provided to the whole humanitarian community on and off the ground.”
Novarlic said the biggest challenges were the highly unstable security situation, and the fact that in some areas water levels were still rising.
“We have 24/7 communication centres across the country to facilitate relief operations, but it's still quite uncertain security-wise.”
According to Novarlic, the team is utilising partners from the UN and Vodafone foundations, which provide the training to allow them to respond quickly and effectively in disaster situations. “That's why we're here and we're trying to do the best we can.”
According to the UN, millions of people have been affected by the floods in what it says could be the largest humanitarian crisis in the past decade.
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