CAPACITY STRENGTHENING TOOL

ETC Guidance on the Provision of Digital Communication Technologies in COVID-19 operations

Digital communication technologies play a foundational role in humanitarian response. Given the experience of Emergency Telecommunications Cluster’s (ETC) response for humanitarians, governments and affected population in varied conflicts and disasters, this document presents some of the particular needs emerging due to COVID-19 and activities that ETC can undertake to support humanitarian operations affected by COVID-19.

This guidance document bases its assumptions on the COVID 19 pandemic affecting most people worldwide following three phases:

  1. Phase one: the spread of highly contagious virus leading to high number of cases in short period of time, and the need for timely communication with affected population
  2. Phase two: inaccessibility to livelihoods and a halt of movements impacting humanitarians, and governments accessibility to respond
  3. Phase three: first two phases resulting in magnifying risks of deeper social, economic, repercussion s, in fragile, at risk and conflict countries; including but not limited to urban settings.

Last modified: July 21, 2020

Language: English