Guidance for responders leading Emergency Telecommunications Cluster operations 

In 2005, when the Cluster Approach was introduced, the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) was activated in one emergency – the Pakistan earthquake. By 2015, the ETC was responding to eight humanitarian emergencies across the globe, concurrently.

Over the years, the ETC response team has expanded from primarily personnel from the lead agency, World Food Programme (WFP), to include trained and experiences responders from the 24 ETC member organisations and numerous stand-by partners.

With multiple emergencies, and responders from so many partner organisations, the official information and guidance contained in the newly released ETC Coordinator Handbook is a welcome addition to the cluster’s arsenal of coordination materials. The 70 page compendium details the key areas of ETC coordination, from assessments, planning and appeals, to deliverables, sustainability and accountability.

With the ETC2020 Strategy, the scope of the cluster has expanded to ensure all those responding to humanitarian emergencies have access to vital communications services – including disaster affected communities. The ETC Coordinator Handbook therefore includes a brief section on Communications with Communities (CwC) in support of a dedicated ETC CwC Coordinator.

The ETC Coordinator Handbook is available to all humanitarian IT emergency responders through this link: https://www.etcluster.org/document/etc-coordinator-handbook (NB: You must have an account and be logged in to download the document).  

The handbook is intended to be used as a quick-reference when information or guidance is required on a specific topic. Additional guidance on CwC as well as responses in specific humanitarian contexts will be included in future versions.   

In addition to in-country response teams, ETC Coordinators in the field are supported by WFP’s IT Emergency Preparedness and Response branch in Dubai and Rome.

For more information about the ETC Coordinator Handbook, contact: Global.ETC@wfp.org