Heavy and prolonged rain that occurred in Sierra Leone last week, caused a massive landslide on Monday, 14 August.  Areas around Freetown, the capital, were swept by a mudslide killing almost 500 people, and triggering massive destructions especially in the areas of Regent and Kamayama. Now, only a year after Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free, this West African country has to deal with loss of lives, severe damage to infrastructure which has left many homeless, as well as threat of various diseases spreading.

The Government of Sierra Leone is planning a two-months response – many international organisations and government are supporting these relief efforts by either direct action or committing funds. World Food Programme (WFP), global lead of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), is on the ground supporting the digitalisation of registration for food vouchers.

WFP has also deployed an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Coordinator to conduct the initial assessments of any gaps and need for shared communications services. It has been established that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and communications networks have not been affected heavily, although connectivity needs have increased in certain areas.

The ETC has not been activated and the ICT Working Group in the country is coordinating activities on the ground. For more information, contact: Global.ETC@wfp.org

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs