Over 900,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh since August 2017, when violence in Myanmar forced them from their homes. Emergency Telecommunications Sector (ETS) services in Bangladesh are critical in a context with limited means of communication — especially in remote areas of the camps.

In 2021, the ETS team provided data connectivity in 40 sites, connecting 535 users from 11 NGOs and five UN agencies and expanded its security communications and connectivity services to support humanitarians in three common operational areas in Cox’s Bazar. ETS security communications services supported a monthly average of 918 VHF radio users who made over 260 daily calls over the ETS network.

Close collaboration between the ETS team on the ground and local partners was also key to running radio network technical assessments and extending communications coverage to additional areas. As part of its ongoing strategy to localize response efforts and equipment, the ETS procured local telecommunications towers in the camps and worked with national service providers, directly linking camp sites to the ETS network.

The Central African Republic (CAR) has suffered sustained conflict, violence and population displacements since 2013.

The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) in CAR helped keep 1,500 humanitarians from 68 partner organizations connected with essential internet connectivity and security communications services across 13 common operational areas in 2021. Inter-agency teams also resumed vital upgrades to the security communications networks in 14 sites across the country, aligning with Telecommunications Security Standards {TESS+} recommendations. 

Working with the national ministry of health, the ETC re-opened its toll-free COVID-19 helpline in June 2021, providing accurate information on the pandemic and reinforcing community health and safety.

The call centre received over 55,000 calls in six months. In September 2021, the ETC launched services in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Bria, giving communities access to information, allowing them to make 900 free-of-charge calls to relatives, and powering over 3,000 mobile phones, radio receivers and flashlights. The ETC's Common Feedback Mechanism (CFM) registered 1,300 calls, enhancing humanitarian coordination and transparency by allowing people to express their needs directly to the most relevant organizations. 

Conflict in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia escalated from November 2020, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis. The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) was activated for a six-month period to provide essential communications services for the humanitarian community. 

Despite major operational challenges, the ETC supported 498 humanitarians from 11 UN agencies in 2021 with access to an emergency communications network in two major Tigray operational areas -- Mekelle and Shire -- helping to keep staff on the ground safe and secure.

Alongside local inter-agency partners, the ETC helped the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) to create and expand radio services in two emergency communication centres. One hundred and eighty-nine radios were programmed for staff deploying to the field, and 242 humanitarians were trained in communication procedures to support user acess.

The ETC convened technical specialists from eight UN agencies to form a working group to improve operational coordination. On 28 November 2021, the ETC was deactivated and became part of the Inter-Agency Telecommunications Working Group which continues to address humanitarian communication gaps in the Tigray region.

Cyclone Yasa battered the Pacific island nation of Fiji in December 2020, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Within 24 hours, the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) activated the Crisis Connectivity Charter, providing free satellite calls and internet connectivity to support Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office (NDMO). ETC personnel deployed to northern Fiji, assessing damaged networks across multiple cyclone-affected sites, focusing on humanitarian distribution centres, and recommending connectivity services to the island nation's NDMO.

The ETC worked with regional partners to restore communications services across northern Fiji during the critical phase, finishing its response on 28 January 2021.

Following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Haiti on 14 August 2021, the Emergency Telecommunications Sector (ETS) and partners mobilized information and communications technology (ICT) support where it was needed.

An ETS coordinator deployed to Haiti from 23 August to 7 October, supporting the local ICT working group and helping to coordinate vital communication services for the humanitarian community.

Local ETS partners delivered connectivity to Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes for the national and departmental government emergency operations centres as well as to On-site Security Operations Centres for humanitarians.

Security radio communication was critical for humanitarians amid difficult circumstances in Haiti. With crucial support from partners, the ETS created a security communications network for humanitarians in two of the key operational areas: Les Cayes and Jeremie.

Libya entered its tenth year of conflict, with protracted political and economic instability severely impacting Libyans, leading to population displacement and a deterioration of basic services.

The Emergency Telecommunications Sector (ETS) continued its work as a key enabler of the humanitarian response in 2021, facilitating shared security communications, internet connectivity, and customer support.

When the ETS hotline (a Common Feedback Mechanism called Tawasul, meaning “communicate” in Arabic) opened in Libya in 2020, it was available in just three languages: Arabic, English, and French. By 2021, this service was being offered in four additional languages -- Hausa Tigrinya, Amharic, Somali, and Oromo.

A machine learning enriched chatbot developed by the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) evolved from a growing demand for health and safety information, and was launched in November 2021 in Libya where it offers around-the-clock service to beneficiaries in Arabic and English. As a complimentary service to Tawasul, the chatbot gives automated answers to frequently asked questions about humanitarian assistance and COVID-19. A total of 24,266 cases were registered through the call centre in 2021.

The ETS also supported affected community access to information by providing internet connectivity at the Community Day Centre in Tripoli. The service was accessed by 352 persons of concern from January until its closure in November.

After a Telecommunications Security Standards {TESS+} mission in November, the ETS continued to work with the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) to address security communications challenges in Libya and enhance the safety and security of humanitarian personnel.

Since the start of the conflict in North-Eastern Nigeria in 2009, an estimated 2 million people have been displaced and more than 240,000 have flooded to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The Emergency Telecommunications Sector (ETS) in North-East Nigeria delivered security communications services and connectivity to humanitarians across 10 sites in 2021, also providing reliable internet to 3,642 humanitarians from 104 organizations across eight hubs in North-East Nigeria.

Humanitarian hubs in Bama, Banki, Damasak, Maiduguri and Monguno were fitted by the ETS with a hybrid solar-based power system, reducing dependence on fossil-fuelled generators. Eight humanitarian hubs now use ETS services powered by sustainable energy.
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The ETS provided security communications services in Maiduguri, Damaturu and Yola metropolitan areas in 2021 to support a safer and better coordinated humanitarian response. One hundred and thirty-nine humanitarians were trained in security communications procedures and 342 radios were programmed to enhance communication among humanitarians.

To improve field staff tracking and support, the United Nations Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) and the Telecommunications Security Standards {TESS+} service remotely linked six Security Operation Centres in five locations and centralized them with the centre in Maiduguri.

Super Typhoon Rai (known locally as Odette) made landfall in the Philippines on 16 December 2021. The strongest storm to hit the Philippines that year, Rai caused catastrophic damage to telecommunications infrastructure and affected about 2.4 million people across the Philippine archipelago.

The Global Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) and its national lead agency the World Food Programme (WFP), worked closely with the Government of the Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to coordinate the response.

WFP supported DICT in deploying four Mobile Operations Vehicle for Emergencies (MOVE) units, which are fully equipped with integrated communications devices.

The MOVE units had been pre-positioned in at-risk locations as part of the ETC’s localized preparedness efforts. WFP also helped provide connectivity with 14 VSATs for 16 locations across the seven main operational areas. The ETC is planning to deploy additional staff in 2022 to support common services for humanitarians.

In the decade since it began, the crisis in Syria has created more than 6.8 million refugees and led to the internal displacement of 6.7 million people. With conflict ongoing, the safety and security of humanitarians in Syria were key priorities for the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) throughout 2021. 

Coordinating with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and the Telecommunications Security Standards {TESS+} service, the ETC finished a second phase of country-wide security communications infrastructure upgrades in Deir Ez-Zor and Tartous, covering a total of six sites across Syria.

With power shortages happening frequently in the country, the ETC installed solar power back-up systems in the six UNDSS-managed Security Operation Centres across Syria—Aleppo, Damascus, Deir Ez-Zor, Homs, Tartous, and Qamishli— reducing humanitarian reliance on fossil fuel-powered services for all security communications systems. The ETC also programmed 79 radio devices for four UN agencies to keep humanitarians secure in the field.

The ETC delivered a workshop in Latakia for 21 personnel from ten UN agencies in Syria, improving the capacity of staff to deliver ETC services.

The ETC began planning data connectivity infrastructure in five common operational hubs following needs assessments of its 300+ users conducted throughout 2021.

Driven by conflict, disease, economic collapse and a breakdown of public services, the situation in Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, affecting nearly 24 million people. The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) scaled up its services in 2021, adding six new sites across Yemen.

The cluster supported 2,600 humanitarians from 47 partner organizations with connectivity services in 17 sites and enabling security communications in eight Security Operations Centres. The ETC also gave online training to 319 humanitarian technicians in skills like information technology project management and cybersecurity.

ETC continued to provide three COVID-19
quarantine centres in Sana’a, Al Hodeidah, and Aden with connectivity. Meanwhile, collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPHP) led to an upgrade of the COVID-19 hotline in Sana’a and a new hotline in Aden. 

Aden University’s IT infrastructure was rehabilitated and connectivity at the Ameen Nasher Higher Institute for Health Sciences was upgraded by the ETC, improving access to online learning for students in the area.

The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster(ETC) strengthened essential telecommunications networks and infrastructure while facilitating an effective COVID-19 response in the Pacific region in2021. Eight local partners, including government and private sector entities, humanitarian organizations, and academic institutions were supported by the ETC.

The cluster delivered teleconferencing systems to enhance communications in Vanuatu’s Emergency Operations Centre managed by the Ministry of Health, as well as for the country’s Chief Information Officer.

Supporting Fiji’s national response to COVID-19, the ETC procured smart tablets and power banks to provide national first responders with portable connectivity for rapid data collection, screening, tracking and vaccination rollout.

Also in Fiji, practical training in how touse satellite equipment was given to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) by the ETC and the World Food Programme. The ETC worked with Australia’s Flinder’s University to create a three-week training course in disaster and emergency preparedness and response. The course will be delivered to local IT professionals in 2022.

Meanwhile in the island nation of Nauru, the ETC collaborated with the National Emergency Services taskforce to lay groundworkfor a 2022 upgrade to the country’s emergency radio telecommunications systems.