- Home
- Preface
- I. Luxembourg’s official development assistance in 2013
- ICT used for humanitarian and development purposes
- Post-2015: the state of play
- II. Cooperation with the main partner countries
- III. Regional cooperation and cooperation with other countries
- IV. Multilateral cooperation
- V. European Union
- VI. Cooperation with non-governmental development organisations
- VII. Humanitarian action
- VIII. Programme support
- IX. Development education and awareness-raising
- X. Microfinance
- XI. Evaluation
- XII. Report on the progress of the work of the Interministerial Committee for Development Cooperation
- Appendices
ICT used for humanitarian and development purposes
emergency.lu
The mobile satellite telecommunication system emergency.lu is a system of mobile telecommunications transmitted via satellite which, in the event of a humanitarian disaster, can be deployed by air within two hours of the alarm being raised. It was designed and developed under a public-private partnership using the skills of three Luxembourg companies (Hitec Luxembourg, SES TechCom and Luxembourg Air Ambulance). Since it was financed through development cooperation budgets, the Grand-Duchy can offer it as a global public good to the international humanitarian community.
The project’s primary objective is to supply broadband connectivity in crisis situations, i.e. after a natural disaster or in chronic situations where humanitarian organisations are working in isolated areas without any means of communication. The system enables working conditions and coordination of the humanitarian actors to be improved, thus helping to save lives.
The World Food Programme (WFP), in its role as leader of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster within the humanitarian coordination system, has been closely connected with the development of the project and is at the root of most of the deployments of emergency.lu. At the end of 2013, three terminals were in operation in South Sudan; one terminal is still providing connectivity in Guiuan in the Philippines (the three others have been repatriated following the resumption of local services); two terminals are still being repatriated from Mali after two years of operation in Mopti; one terminal is being used by the WFP in the mountainous regions of Nepal and one by UNHCR in Venezuela to support an operation for Colombian refugees. There is one terminal permanently on standby in the Luxembourg Air Ambulance hangars at Findel, while several terminals are in position in the Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai.
The budgeted amount for the first phase of the emergency.lu project (2011-2014) was 18 545 516 euros inc. taxes at the end of 2013. This amount encompasses two associated projects which illustrate ICT requirements in the humanitarian sector:
- the assignment of two ICT engineers to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to develop a standardised humanitarian language (Humanitarian Exchange Language – HXL) in order to facilitate needs analysis and the exchange of data between actors;
- the donation in kind of two mobile applications (Relief Items Catalogue and Camp Assessment Tool) tothe Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations for refugees.
The emergency.lu project is to be extended for the 2015-2020period.
