ARLA/CLUSTER: UIT disponibiliza equipamentos para comunicações de emergência em Myanmar

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

ITU deploys emergency communication equipment in Myanmar

ITU has deployed emergency telecommunication equipment in Myanmar
following severe floods which have claimed many lives and submerged
more than 200,000 acres of farmland, damaging essential infrastructure
and thousands of homes.

The emergency equipment deployed by ITU includes Iridium satellite
phones, Inmarsat satellite terminals (Broadband Global Area Networks),
accessories and laptops to support rescue and relief coordination
efforts.

“ITU has deployed emergency telecommunication equipment this year in
Malawi, Vanuatu, The Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique,
Nepal, and now Myanmar,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.
“I would like to express my deepest condolences to the people and
Government of Myanmar following loss of life and widespread
devastation caused by recent floods across the country.”

“I am fully confident that through cooperation with international
agencies like ITU, local governments and non-governmental
organizations, we can mitigate the effect of the disaster, and recover
quickly,” said U Myat Hein, Union Minister for Communications and
Information Technology, Myanmar.

“The floods in Myanmar have created a dire humanitarian situation,”
said Mr Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development
Bureau. “In order to rapidly deploy emergency telecommunication
equipment in areas affected by natural disaster, ITU continues to
coordinate and facilitate the creation of partnerships among all
stakeholders involved in the deployment and use of telecommunications
in humanitarian work.”

“Information and communication technologies play a critical role when
disaster strike,” said Mr Soe Tein, Director General of the Posts and
Telecommunications Department, Ministry of Communications and
Information Technology. “Without communications, we cannot support the
priority needs of the people affected.”

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), as of 17 August more than 1,152,490
people have been affected, 103 people have died, and more than 15,000
homes have been destroyed.

At the Third UN Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai,
Japan, in March 2015, ITU emphasized that with over 7 billion mobile
cellular subscriptions worldwide, almost 3 billion people connected to
the Internet and with 4.9 billion connected devices, ICTs have a vast
potential to support disaster management efforts.

ITU considers emergency telecommunications as an integral part of the
post-2015 sustainable development agenda. Through innovative and
easy-to-use technologies, local communities can be empowered to
provide early warning signals and also act as first responders when
disaster strikes.

Source: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2015/CM12.aspx