a look at case studies conducted in syria, peru, indonesia and kenya. presented by: buhlebomzi...
TRANSCRIPT
MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN HUMANITARIAN SITUATIONS A look at case studies conducted in Syria, Peru, Indonesia and Kenya.
Presented by: Buhlebomzi Ndukwana
CASE STUDIES Delivering Food aid to Iraqi refugees in
Syria Facilitating Communication in
emergency situations: Peru, Indonesia
DELIVERING FOOD AID TO IRAQI REFUGEES
WFP had to make choices about who they provide with food aid
The estimate was that 50 000 were in need of food aid
WFP was looking for innovative ways to stretch the donations
The problem was distribution
CONTINUED “…we started distributing food to refugees in
Damascus, but how were we going to announce distribution?”-Haitham El Noush
The refugees had access to mobile phones The idea of using text messages was born… WFP contacted a local cell phone provider The company agreed to sponsor the first 800
text messages free Eventually an account was set up, to lower
costs
CHALLENGES Messages targeted only on the phone
numbers on the list People assuming that the message was
an entitlement People not checking eligibility on the
provided website People changing phone numbers
OUTCOME The 800 free messages were successful In the first six months 35 000 messages
were sent reaching 140 000 eligible people
Messages successfully delivered to families
Families felt a sense of being cared for The programme has grown
IN 2011 They use PDAs for bigger data sets Simple mobile phone for smaller data It makes their work easier as well as
that of data entry clerks The next step is tablets Data collection is 20-30% faster http
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AJ6XtToNeo
FACILITATING COMMUNICATION IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
15 August 2007, an earthquake struck the coast of Peru
Brought buildings down and disrupted communications
Emergency aid was dispatched from all over the world
These groups would need communication technology
Someone had to help in this regard
TELECOMS SANS FRONTIERES
Founded in 1998, headquarters in Pau France
Workers are volunteers: university graduates and professionals over 50 years
Initially to provide disaster survivors with 3minute calls to families
Use mainly satellite communication equipment
Equipment is constantly upgraded and developed to meet the rapidly changing needs
SOME PICTURES
CHALLENGES Keeping up with changes in technology
Determining ways to best adapt new technologies to meet needs in the field
Ensuring sustainability
NEXT STEPS After assignments, staff conduct a
debriefing TSF is looking to expand the use of their
facilities Looking for ways to open cyber cafes in
relief areas Exploring ways to play a greater role in
prevention efforts Also looking at expanding the use of
mobile technology
IN 2011…
RECENT CASE Mobile technology recently played a role
in a humanitarian situation Social media in the “Egyptian
revolution” Facebook and YouTube campaigns “technosociality”
QUOTE “this is not the future, it’s the now ”-
Andrew trench