Luxembourg's development cooperation - Annual report 2017

In 2017, emergency.lu was deployed during two natural disasters (cyclone Enawo in Madagascar and hurricanes Irma/Maria in the Caribbean). Three satellite telecommunications systems were installed to supply services to the humanitarian community addressing complex crises.

At the end of 2017, emergency.lu was deployed in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Nigeria in support of the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF.

22 terabytes (22 000 000 MB) of data were transmitted via the emergency.lu satellite links in 2017.

Since 12 February 2017, a mobile emergency.lu satellite telecommunication system has been operating at the base camp of the International Humanitarian Partnership in Maiduguri in Nigeria. This deployment, at the official request of the World Food Programme (WFP), aims to support the Emergency Telecommunications Sector (ETS) in its efforts to ensure a coordinated response with the Nigerian government and the humanitarian organisations in the northwest of the country.

In response to the destruction caused by Cyclone Enawo, which struck Madagascar in March 2017, two volunteers from the Luxembourg emergency services’ intervention group responsible for humanitarian missions and two satellite telecommunications systems were rushed to the site in order to support the humanitarian actors’ efforts.

At the official request of UNHCR and in support of the “Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector” (RETS), emergency.lu has been supplying services to the humanitarian community in Diffa, Niger, since May 2017.

Following a request on 11 September 2017 from the World Food Programme, which leads the UN’s Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), a team of four volunteers from the Luxembourg emergency services’ intervention group responsible for humanitarian missions, with two emergency.lu rapid deployment satellite communication kits, were deployed in the Antilles (Dominica and St. Martin). The objective of the mission was to re-establish communication services in the regions affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

In support of UNICEF, since September 2017 emergency.lu has supplied services in the Kasaï region in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In South Sudan, where emergency.lu has been present since 2012, a system is still currently operational for UNICEF in Pibor.