Emergency Telecommunications Cluster
from OMAN MBIKO in Bangui, Central African Republic
BANGUI, (CAJ News) – A GLOBAL network of organisations working to provide shared communications services in humanitarian emergencies requires US$1,3 million to implement its activities in the Central African Republic (CAR) this year.
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) needs the funds mainly for the purchasing of relevant equipment.
This is to support the Telecommunications Security Standards (TESS) recommendations to enable emergency responders to communicate in deep field areas in the conflict prone CAR.
Among planned exercises is the radio programming training for United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organisations (NGO) staff in the northwestern city of Paoua and to deploy radio and satellite equipment, as recommended by TESS.
Partnerships have been secured with two local partner organisations to host the designated phone booth for affected communities in the central Bria and managing the Information and Learning Hub for affected communities in the southeastern Bangassou
ETC made progress in 2019 despite the conflict.
At the UN Mission in CAR (MINUSCA)-hosted site, it set up a Security Operations Centre (SOC) and deployed a dedicated NGO very high frequency (VHF) channel, monitored by a dedicated VHF base station.
Further, all required reprogramming of equipment for UN agencies and NGOs and maintenance of current communications infrastructure was carried out.
These activities will support the safety and security of staff and enable emergency responders to communicate in deep field areas.
The next Global ETC Joint teleconference will take place on January 29.
CAR is suffering the aftermath of a rebellion by Muslim extremists in 2013.
Despite peace-building efforts, the security situation remains volatile and unstable, resulting in escalating humanitarian needs in the country.
Criminals and armed groups have injured around 40 humanitarians since the beginning of 2019.
– CAJ News