This link has been bookmarked by 2 people . It was first bookmarked on 09 Apr 2008, by Nancy White.
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29 Apr 08
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Ericsson Response Team, Telecoms sans Frontières and Pactec have also provided emergency telecommunications.
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OCHA has overall responsibility for emergency ICT; the World Food Programme (WFP) leads on security (i.e. radio) communications; and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) leads on data communications (i.e. satellite connectivity). However it remains unclear how actors outside the UN can participate; while WFP offered frequency allocation and repeater services to NGOs in Pakistan, neither OCHA nor UNICEF could clarify their roles as cluster leads.
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In general, my assessment found that reporting is still an extractive activity, designed to channel information up to headquarters rather than improve staff awareness of the situation on the ground. It also confirmed that the existing system of coordination is disjointed, with little opportunity for communication between different meetings. The result is that nobody can build a coherent and comprehensive picture of a given situation for decision-making. Everybody struggles to make sense of the overall situation, and we are left with decision-making in silos, on a limited sectoral or geographic basis.
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Greater authority needs to be given to common services to take a lead on behalf of the community. The NGO community – led by groups such as the IWG – need to accept their share of responsibility for coordination of information; if a service provider such as the HIC is not delivering what they need, NGOs need to articulate this and work with the HIC to ensure that it does.
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28 Apr 06
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