The GSMA Disaster Response Programme works to understand and champion the critical role of mobile in humanitarian crises. The programme partners with mobile network operators (MNOs), humanitarian actors and governments to focus on coordination, regulatory and technical challenges. The roles of mobile communication stretch far beyond the immediate aftermath of disaster and continue to be vital components in crises that last for, in some cases developing, over many months, even years.

Preparing for and responding to crises requires a nuanced approach that recognises the interdependency of players. Many agencies in the Mobile for Development sphere collaborate to build greater resilience, provide innovative solutions and allow continuity of service under extreme pressure.

This intersection point of agriculture, mobile money, education, and big data programmes, forms the space in which the Disaster Response Programme operates. With over 32 million people forced to flee their homes due to natural disasters in 2012, and 10.4 million internally displaced people currently in Africa alone, the plight of communities displaced in crisis is a growing one. The plight of Syrian refugees is increasingly difficult, and only recently we have seen stories in the media of the tragic deaths of migrants crossing the Sahara.

To address these complex situations, interaction is required between the streams aiding vulnerable communities facing disaster and crisis. MNOs have a critical role to play in both facilitating the rapid deployment of emergency responders, and access to the rich data provided by MNOs have increasing roles to play in cross-sector collaborations.

Organisations such as Souktel have been pioneering SMS based work into information sharing in crisis contexts. The project which initially focused on providing information on employment opportunities in Palestine and data sharing for Aid agencies, now also provides education continuity programmes and the technology is used in 15 countries around the world. The provision of education services in refugee contexts is vital to protect the futures of the children involved, to prevent them from becoming a lost generation.

Flowminder was granted access to mobile data from mobile network operator Digicel in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Through careful analysis of this data, meaningful information could be passed to the UN and other aid organisations on population movement during the earthquake relief operations and the cholera outbreak, allowing for more efficient distribution of resources and a more effective response. Flowminder works on ‘Improving disaster response by collecting, aggregating, analyzing, and disseminating anonymized mobile phone location data in industry standard geographic information system (GIS) formats to NGOs and relief agencies in near real-time.’

Refugees United has developed an online, mobile-enabled search tool which allows refugees to access a large database and start to track down missing relatives and friends. Refugees United is run in with collaboration between technology provider Ericsson, and mobile network operators (Safaricom in Kenya and Vodacom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The platform is currently being launched in Uganda and there are plans for further expansion.

Vodacom is an example of a mobile network operator which is starting to embrace the potential of mobile based interventions to humanitarian crisis and response. Through partnerships with Government, humanitarian and international organisations, mobile network operators find themselves with an important role to play in this area.

These organisations will be joining the Disaster Response panel at the upcoming Mobile for Development Summit in Cape Town. The session will provide the opportunity to learn about interventions currently taking place, be a chance to discuss the challenges of working within disaster response contexts and enable a space for shared learning from experiences.

Speakers are:

• Yazeed Sheqem (Souktel) @yAZEEDsHEQEM
• Erik Wetter (Flowminder)
• Christian Mikkelsen (Refugees United) @Refunitedotorg
• Mwamvita Makamba (Vodacom) @Makambas

Join the discussion. It’s not too late to register to attend the summit and you can follow the events as they unfold on #M4D13 and by following @GSMAm4d

Photo: By EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, via Flickr.