For over 6 months on the Mali borders, TSF is reinforcing the coordination among the humanitarian actors working with Malian refugees.
In the Sahel region, the security conditions have significantly deteriorated in March 2012 with the massive arrival in Mali neighboring countries of refugees fleeing the fighting between the Tuareg rebels and the regular army. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees there are more than 52,600 refugees in Niger, and more than 108,000 in Burkina Faso.
According to WFP, since last August, humanitarian support is the main means of survival for most of the Sahel people. In order to reinforce the assistance to vulnerable populations, TSF is providing reliable and rapid satellite communications for a better coordination of the organisations in the field.
Given the extremely complex geographic and security context in the Sahel region, TSF is using both fixed and mobile satellite equipment to connect its humanitarian Hubs and the teams during their trips.
TSF IN NIGER
• Abala refugee camp:
On 24th April 2012, TSF installed a Vsat satellite antenna in the coordination offices of ACTED and UNHCR within the Abala camp which is now hosting more than 14,300 refugees. The humanitarian hub offers a secured Wifi connection to the 30 humanitarian workers who come daily to connect: MSF Switzerland, MSF France, CARE International, Islamic Relief, CADEV, HELP, VSF Belgium, ACTED and UNHCR…
The 55Mb exchanged from the TSF humanitarian hub allow a more efficient daily management of the information and a coordinated response of all the actors in the area.
Camp Manager Assistant/ACTED: With the problem encountered on the local network, without TSF it would have been impossible to communicate our reports with the office in Niamey and the partners. Thanks to the action of TSF, the constant communication is ensured, as well as the quality of the coordination.
Head of Communication and Information/ACTED: The TSF connection in the Abala camp is an essential support for the development and the implementation of our project, notably in a region where telecommunication is underdeveloped. The connection is also important for all the agencies working in the area! It is indeed the unique mean of communication when the GSM network is unavailable. The cuts can last for two days.
• Banibangou:
Since 13th June, the Vsat satellite antenna installed by TSF within the offices of CARE International is supporting the actions of the NGOs VSF, Oxfam, Karkara, Banibangou city hall and prefecture and the RFI Hausa radio. In this locality situated only few kilometers from the Mali border is facing for several months the massive arrival of refugees fleeing violence in Mali. This rise in population put additional pressure on already insufficient food resources in the region.
Humanitarian workers are using the TSF connection to assess and monitor the evolution of critical living conditions among refugees. The telecom services offered by TSF enable them to collect quality and reliable data for a rapid decision making and an appropriate response. To date, 14 Mb of data have been exchanged.
• Tillia region:
On 10th July, TSF provided a Bgan satellite terminal and a Wifi router to Action Contre la Faim Espagne (ACF-E) for its activities against malnutrition and food insecurity. The TSF satellite connection allows ACF-E to implement, in collaboration with the Hed Tamat NGO, emergency humanitarian help mechanisms, notably for access to potable water and sanitation facilities.
The permanent insecurity in this region close to the Mali border is a major constraint to emergency aid deliveries in the affected areas. TSF satellite equipment enables ACF-E teams to keep in contact with their headquarters during assessment missions of food situation and prevalence of malnutrition in the area.
To date, more than 139 Mb have been used for these emergency communications.
In the region of Tillia, the situation is critical. It is essential to reinforce the resilience of Malian refugee populations to face their current precarious living conditions. Most of the refugees are coming from pastoral and rural regions of Mali, and are waiting to come back so as to start the harvest before the rainy season and care for their flocks which are their unique mean of livelihood. The intense fighting in Mali prevents these populations from leaving Niger, where their survival only depends on humanitarian aid.
• North Dakoro:
Since 5th June, the Bgan and Isatphone Pro satellite connections as well as the laptops provided by TSF to Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium, allow mobile teams to maintain communication with their headquarters during long lasting missions in isolated and often dangerous areas.
The vital data collected on the food situation in the remote villages are thus rapidly transferred an analysed for the setting up of more efficient nutritional interventions. More than 103 Mb have been exchanged between these teams and their headquarters. The satellite phone enabled them to make more than 17 hours of priority calls.
• TSF community telecom centre of Dakoro, Maradi region:
The TSF community centre created in Niger in 2007 contributes to bridging the digital divide for vulnerable populations by providing the local community with constant Internet access. Since the beginning of armed conflict in Mali, several Malian refugees in Niger have reached the community centre to rebuild family links and ask for personalised assistance.
Story:
Coordinator of the TSF centre in Abalak: There are also displaced people from Libya, Mali and the Ivory Coast in the area, all of them use the centre for their communication (seek for support of help).
TSF IN BURKINA FASO
• Gorom-Gorom:
The installation by TSF of the Vsat satellite connection on 11th July 2012 within the offices of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium (VSF-B) in Gorom-Gorom, north-eastern Burkina Faso, enabled the NGOs and United Nations agencies working in the area to exchange 25 Mb of data.
The connection is benefitting to VSF-B, A2N, UNHCR, Red Cross, Save the Children, HELP, AEC, TASSATH, Afrique Verte and AGED. The DPASSN and the Discrict Direction of Health also regularly use the humanitarian hub.
Before the intervention of TSF, the organisations in the area were forced to cover every week the 57 km separating Gorom-Gorom from Dori, the departmental capital, to find a good Internet access. Since then, the TSF connection supports the implementation of emergency activities which notably increased since May 2012, and facilitates the communication between the field and the central services at national and international levels.
• Djibo:
On 19th July, the TSF satellite connection in the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is reinforcing the actions of all the NGOs in the area (Oxfam…) with refugees in the camps north of Djibo, where more than 15,000 people are living. 26 Mb of data have been exchanges.
In the region of Gorom-Gorom, few kilometers from the Mali border, the mobile network is operational but the Internet access is only possible through Edge network or 3G keys, thus the connection is very slow and not reliable at all.
The precarious security conditions in Sahel are making emergency humanitarian intervention even more difficult and jeopardizing vulnerable populations’ survival. TSF satellite communications allow a better coordination of field teams and thus reinforce their actions with Sahel people.