USING ICT TO SAVE LIVES IN CRISES
In places where hunger strikes most often, communication is essential to saving lives. Local communications are at best primitive or at worst unpredictable. Only when communication systems are in place can WFP’s aid workers effectively manage the movement, delivery and monitoring of critical food assistance while ensuring their own safety at the same time.
WFP ICT allows staff to communicate with field offices and Headquarters wherever they are – be it the jungles of Cambodia, the Angolan bush or the deserts of Yemen.
WFP ICT rapid response teams can be dispatched to emergencies with the equipment necessary to get communications up and running within 48 hours. In between crises, the crews travel to WFP's operations, providing the necessary technical support and continuous upgrading of the ICT network.
Emergency Telecommunications Cluster
In major emergencies that require a joint response by several UN agencies, it’s essential to ensure coordination to have a system in place which allows telecommunication services to be set up quickly and efficiently.
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) groups together UN agencies and other humanitarian partners with the most relevant expertise in order to achieve the task. WFP, thanks to its extensive experience in emergencies, plays a key role in the ETC, serving as the lead agency for common security telecommunications services.
