Missions

TSF strengthens the coordination of national and international relief efforts in the remote Mentawai islands following an earthquake-induced tsunami.

The heavy rains in the autumn of 2010 caused major floods in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia. A TSF team deployed to the Hat Yai province, where water levels had reached 3m, to assess the state of communications networks. TSF supported relief efforts as well as the local population.

Severe floods in July 2010 killed more than 1,500 people. TSF supported survivors who found themselves in utter destitution by offering free calls in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. In addition, TSF telecom specialists provided communications facilities to UNDAC and OCHA teams in Punjab and Islamabad.

To combat the dengue epidemic that has been spreading in Nicaragua since October 2010, TSF set up an innovative system to monitor the spread of the disease. This system, based on simple SMS, enables the rapid centralisation of reliable data from several dozen health centres. This initiative set up in partnership with the PATH NGO is intensely used by SILAIS, a crisis unit mobilised by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health.

June 2010: The situation is tense in the city of Osh, where clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks have killed more than 2,000 people. 400,000 people are fleeing the violence, and the city's humanitarian and security situation is worrying. A TSF team deploys to the heart of the conflict to connect the humanitarian organisations present on site.

TSF trained 16 members of the national Chilean organizations ONEMI and SUBTEL on emergency telecommunications.

A need for local telecommunication capacity at the Philippine NDCC was highlighted by the aftermath of typhoons Ketsana and Parma in September 2009. In partnership with the NDCC and the European Commission, TSF designed a capacity building programme for the benefit of national and provincial crisis management structures. 10 connected mobile office kits and 27 telephony kits were pre-positioned in the areas most affected by the latest disasters.

In July and August 2009, in partnership with the European Commission, TSF led an emergency telecommunications training programme for 40 representatives of humanitarian organisations from 8 Asian countries and 4 Central American countries vulnerable to natural disasters

An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale occurred in the Maule region of Chile. As the country called for international assistance, TSF coordinated with the Chilean authorities to provide telecommunication assistance to the local and international community and populations.

ICT at the service of isolated populations in Guiè

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti is a humanitarian crisis that remains engraved in the memories of people across the globe. With more than 220,000 fatalities, and over 1 million people left without a roof over their heads, relief efforts were titanic. With the support of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations body (ECHO), TSF provided satellite telecommunications support for the humanitarian response community, including the government and the United Nations, whilst working to provide communications services for thousands of families.

Hurricane Ida swept the coasts of Nicaragua and El Salvador in November 2009. At the request of UNDAC, TSF teams traveled to both countries to provide communications to the United Nations assessment teams.