At the peak of the West African Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone became a central focus of the international response, with Port Loko district emerging as one of the hardest-hit areas. The rapid spread of the virus placed extreme pressure on national systems, requiring the rapid deployment of international surge capacity. To support this effort, the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) established a base camp in Port Loko, designed to host and sustain responders operating in the field.
In this high-intensity operational environment, reliable communications were not available. Local telecommunications infrastructure was either overwhelmed or unreliable due to increased demand and limited resilience. In response to a request from the World Food Programme (WFP), Luxembourg deployed emergency.lu satellite communications systems to the IHP base camp, ensuring that responders had access to a stable and independent connectivity solution.
The emergency.lu installation provided high-speed satellite internet, transforming the base camp into a fully functioning coordination hub. From this location, humanitarian teams were able to:
- Track Ebola cases and share epidemiological data in real time
- Coordinate logistics for treatment centres and safe burials
- Communicate with national authorities and international coordination mechanisms
- Maintain operational reporting and planning cycles
Port Loko’s role as a frontline district meant that timely information exchange was critical. The emergency.lu deployment ensured that responders could operate effectively despite the challenging and high-risk environment. It also enabled integration with broader coordination structures under UNMEER, where WFP was tasked with delivering ETC-like ICT services across the response.
By providing resilient connectivity in a critical hotspot, emergency.lu played a key role in strengthening the operational capacity of international responders. The Port Loko base camp became not only a logistical hub but also a communication node linking field operations to the wider global response effort.
