Current
missions

Requested by UNICEF, emergency.lu deployed a satellite terminal to Syria.

The system has been installed by trained UNICEF personnel.

Throughout 2016, Boko Haram insurgents continued to commit grave human rights violations and carry out attacks against civilians in north-eastern Nigeria and in the Lake Chad Basin. Despite achieving considerable gains, counter-insurgency operations led to further forced population movements. Over 226,559 Nigerians had been forced to flee their home country by the end of July 2018, seeking refuge in Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Chad currently hosts more than 10,300 Nigerian refugees.



The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the wider humanitarian community have mobilised in Baga-Sola, Chad to meet the growing needs of refugees from Nigeria.

In situations where people have been forced to flee, the Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector (RETS) provides vital communications means to the humanitarian community, supporting their life-saving work. RETS is the mechanism through which UNHCR coordinates the communications technology response in refugee emergencies.

Building on the shared accomplishment of the Diffa connectivity project, UNHCR requested emergency.lu support for its operations in  Baga-Sola.

In support of the Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector (RETS) led by UNHCR in Niger, the Governement of Luxembourg deployed one emergency.lu kit in Diffa, supporting UNHCR and its partners.

Article by Mariko Hall, UNHCR
Originally published on UNHCR.org

Remote, dusty, dangerous - the border region of Diffa hosts over 106,000 Nigerian refugees and more than 127,000 internally displaced people forced to flee Boko Haram’s terror. Located a two-day drive from the capital Niamey, humanitarian organisations in Diffa face seemingly insurmountable challenges, from insecurity and remoteness to lack of funding. At least now, lack of connectivity is no longer on this list of challenges.

In an area where internet is sometimes frustratingly slow, but most often completely non-existent, the UNHCR-led Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector (RETS) has deployed the Government of Luxembourg’s ‘emergency.lu’ solution, providing reliable connectivity to implementing partners Action Pour Le Bien Etre (APBE), Karkara, and Secours Des Oubliés (SDO).

“Connectivity allows us to better design and implement programs that will help improve protection and assistance of individuals,” says Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, Deputy Representative, UNHCR Niger. “Internet improves the way UNHCR and partners work together for people of concern.”

The population of Diffa has almost doubled since 2015, as people flee violence, forced recruitment and suicide bombings. In an area that already suffers from chronic poverty, harsh climate, recurrent epidemics, poor infrastructure and limited access to basic services, the influx continues to stretch already scarce resources.

Emergency Telecommunications for Refugee Response

Within the framework of the Refugee Coordination Model, RETS provides vital internet connectivity and security communications services to UNHCR, its partners and the extended humanitarian community in emergencies. The emergency.lu deployment in Diffa is the first of such where services are being provided for partners, through partners.

“As ICT, it’s our role to ensure people responding to the needs of refugees have the technology tools available to efficiently, effectively and safely carry out their work,” says Doug Greene, Chief Information Officer and Director of Division of Information Systems and Telecommunications (DIST), UNHCR. “Across Africa alone, UNHCR is responding to the needs of over four and a half million refugees and in each and every one of these situations, communications technology is critical.

The emergency.lu deployment in Diffa is the first where we have been able to quite literally link partners who support us with services, and partners who support the lives of displaced people and refugees.”

Connecting Sites, Bridging Gaps

The emergency.lu solution has been installed in UNHCR’s Diffa office, and wirelessly linked to the offices of partners to provide connectivity to these sites, including Sayam Forage refugee camp.

“The most challenging part was the link to Sayam Forage,” says Fardy Mandy, West Africa Senior Regional ICT Officer, UNHCR. “The straight line distance is 36km, so we needed long-distance microwave antennas which look like two giant balls. We had one of us at the office, and another at Sayam Forage, carefully pointing the balls to each other to establish the connection.”

“Connectivity is a medium to bridge the gap,” says Abdouraouf. We have a detailed learning programme in Diffa to help kids who came from Nigeria maintain access to the Nigerian curriculum.”

At the end of the 2017 academic year, groups of junior and senior secondary school refugee students temporarily returned to Nigeria to complete their exams. In partnership with Italian non-governmental organisation COOPI, UNHCR is finalising an action plan for Nigeria National Examination Council accreditation of two distance examination centres in Diffa.

“Now we have internet, all these things will improve,” says Abdouraouf. “We can use the internet to support better education for children in the camp.”

Supporting Safety & Security

Communications technology enables better and faster humanitarian assistance and protection, as well as supports safety and security in the world’s most challenging and remote environments.

Diffa has suffered a number of Boko Haram attacks in recent years. In June, two female suicide bombers entered the internally displaced people camp of Kablewa and detonated the bombs they were carrying, killing themselves, as well as two others, and injuring 11 more.

“The same internet link we connected also supports security communications,” says Fardy. “Through the internet we can connect the two-way VHF radio so that someone in Sayam Forage can speak to someone in Diffa.”

RETS connectivity services in Diffa are being used by 30 partner staff. Equipment and services are being provided at no-cost to UNHCR, for use by its partners, by the Government of Luxembourg for an initial period of 6 months.

The next step for the project is to extend connectivity services to the new office being built for UNHCR’s Government of Niger counterparts.

“The way that protection was before, registration was before, security access was before, education was before, partners working together with UNHCR and refugees themselves – all of this has changed,” says Abdouraouf. “Connectivity changes the way we communicate and operate.”

 

 

 

The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) was activated in December 2013 in response to the escalating crisis. The recent escalation of violence in CAR in late 2018 has brought the country towards the brink of a new, large-scale humanitarian crisis, increasing the protection risks in multiple new hotspots across the country.



A protection crisis erupted in the Central African Republic (CAR) at the end of 2013 resulting in severe violence and widespread displacement. The collapse of state, law and order and public services further exacerbated the situation. Since then, the country has remained extremely volatile. Over five years after the beginning of the conflict, the humanitarian situation remains critical leaving 2.5 million people, over half the population, in urgent need of assistance.

A data connectivity solution – deployed by ETC partners Ericsson Response and Government of Luxembourg emergency.lu – has been deployed in Batangafo in the Central African Republic (CAR), providing critical communication services to humanitarians operating within an area of escalating conflict, displacement and need.

“The donation from the Government of Luxembourg comes at a timely moment when UNHCR is placing emphasis on investing in its partners and building their capacity to respond better. Strengthened communications serves not only as a way to enhance UNHCR collaboration with partners, but it is also a means to provide them an opportunity to broaden their own operational perspectives and for all of us together to make a difference.”

Giovanni Monge
Head of Programme, UNHCR Venezuela



In Guasdualito, UNHCR and its partners are providing protection assistance to individuals who are not able to leave Venezuela, through community-based projects that deliver services in the areas of health, education, protection, water and sanitation.

 

The exodus of Venezuelan nationals is the largest in the recent history of Latin America and the Caribbean. There are currently 4 million refugees and migrants from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela throughout the world, many of whom have sought a new life in neighboring south American countries.

As the crisis in Venezuela continues to deteriorate, the gradual degradation of national services has led to difficult and unreliable access to internet connectivity and communications, hindering the capacity of humanitarians to deliver assistance effectively.

Lack of access to a stable source of power from the national electrical grid is heavily impacting the interventions of humanitarian organizations across Venezuela. As a result of the electricity outages, Internet Service Providers are no longer able to deliver services in a dependable and consistent manner, and many companies are no longer offering subscriptions to commercial contracts. For local organizations assisting beneficiaries on a limited budget, this leaves little funding to ensure access to internet services.