"Since the early 2010s, humanitarian donors have increasingly contracted private firms to monitor and evaluate humanitarian activities, accompanied by a promise of improving accountability through their data and data analytics. This article contributes to scholarship on data practices in the humanit
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arian sector by interrogating the implications of this new set of actors on humanitarian accountability relations. Drawing on insights from 60 interviews with humanitarian donors, implementing agencies, third-party monitors and data enumerators in Somalia, this article interrogates data narratives and data practices around thirdparty monitoring. We find that, while humanitarian donors are highly aware of challenges to accountability within the sector, there is a less critical view of data challenges and limitations by these external firms. This fuels donor optimism about third-party monitoring data,while obscuring the ways that third-partymonitoring data practices are complicating accountability relations in practice. Resultant data practices, which are aimed at separating data from the people involved, reproduce power asymmetries around the well-being and expertise of the Global North versus Global South. This challenges accountability to donors and to crisis-affected communities, by providing a partial view of reality that is, at the same time, assumed to be reflective of crisis- affected communities’ experiences. This article contributes to critical data studies by showing howmonitoring data practices intended to improve accountability relations are imbued with, and reproduce, power asymmetries that silence local actors." (Abstract)
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[.] the report examines three pivotal areas of assessment. First, there was an evaluation of the damage to Haiti’s networks and infrastructure after the 2021 earthquake, along with the restoration of telecommunication services. Second, the assessment focused on Haiti’s country-level resilience,
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encompassing network/Internet Service Provider (ISP) resilience, critical infrastructure resilience, market resilience, as well as the resilience of operators across various sectors. Third, there was an evaluation of the preparedness of emergency telecommunications in Haiti. The report concludes with recommendations tailored to each assessment area, with the goal of enhancing Haiti's preparedness in emergency telecommunications." (Foreword)
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"As a tool of political communication and information diffusion, social media has transformed the process of securitization, allowing (in)security messages to spread and scale up rapidly. Focusing on the case of the Amazon rainforest fires in 2019, this article seeks to answer two questions: How doe
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s securitization spread in online networks? And who are the actors that contribute to the diffusion of security messages? To explore this puzzle, the study develops a dictionary of query terms and performs a full-archive search to collect tweets posted between June and October 2019 and reconstruct the communication network of more than 3 million users. Drawing from theories of online activism and research on information diffusion in networks, the study uses both the structure of the Twitter network and the dynamics of activity in message exchange to identify four types of users and explore their roles in the spread of the message. The findings shed new light on the ways in which social media facilitates the definition of security problems and provide empirical evidence of the prominent position of influence taken by lay actors in the process of securitization." (Abstract)
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"The main conclusions drawn from the analysis of online opinions during natural disasters in Africa are highlighted below:
Climate change is one of the main concerns of the African population in recent years. This climate problem is considered to be causing more and greater natural disasters on the
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continent. Therefore, it is observed how this issue occupies most of the topics of analysis, from education, the health system or employment and economy.
Most online conversations during natural disasters (75%) share information about the natural hazard and make emergency calls for action.
In relation to employment and economy, one of the most persistent narratives is about how natural disasters affect the countryfs agriculture, one of the most emerging sectors in the continent.
Citizen concerns after a natural disaster intensify when they coincide with other health problems, as has happened in the past with Ebola, Malaria or COVID-19.
The population is particularly concerned about how natural disasters affect the most vulnerable people, such as women, children, the poorest population or minority communities such as the Ogiek in Kenya.
Between 2% and 6% of the comments generated online when a natural event occurs are questions. The topics with the highest concentration of questions are the economy and employment, education and action to help vulnerable populations.
By analyzing the online conversations during some past natural disasters, it has been possible to understand how these conversations are configured when an event occurs. By monitoring certain topics such as health or education, the order of concerns of the population can be understood at all times and how this evolves over time. At the same time, identifying specific questions around the different topics and countries, it helps to understand the main concerns or needs from the citizens when a natural hazard occurs. In addition, using the top keywords, you can identify what the population is talking about to a greater extent. This, together with the identification of qualitative insights, can gain a better understanding of citizen concerns and identify possible areas for action." (Conclusions)
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"When aid professionals adopt high tech pilot projects, ignorance, blind faith, misplaced trust, and authentic expertise all come into play. Based on ethnographic research in Jordan, I examine how a refugee aid organisation produces and applies a blockchain pilot. Innovative pilots help internationa
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l aid organisations attract and maintain their funding sources and reputations. I argue that The Blockchain Pilot is ‘conjured’ as a product to be promoted to a marketplace of aid donors. ‘Conjurings’ are the spectacles and magical appearances that draw an audience of investors. Ethnographic research suggests that conjurings drive capitalist markets. Rather than just requiring knowledge and expertise, I argue that conjurings entail key forms of ignorance: (i) confusion, (ii) illusion, (iii) disappearance, and (iv) misdirection. This ignorance is both strategic and inadvertent. Ignorance, just like knowledge, is shaped by hierarchical power relations. The organisation’s experimental adoption of a blockchain database system benefits some stakeholders (innovators, private partners) more than others (local aid workers and refugees). The conjuring of the pilot is what justifies the adoption of blockchain, even though a simple database would have sufficed." (Abstract)
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"Since the mid-2010s, chatbots have grown in usage and popularity across the humanitarian sector. While this usage has gained traction, there is scarce information on the collective successes, risks, and trade-offs of this automation. This research addresses this gap, documenting chatbot deployments
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across the humanitarian sector and exploring the existing uses, benefits, trade-offs and challenges of using chatbots in humanitarian contexts. The research was conducted by The Engine Room, with support from the American Red Cross, the IFRC and valuable input from our advisory committee. This report is not created as a comprehensive overview of chatbots use, instead, the goal of the report is twofold: to offer guiding questions and considerations for humanitarian organisations deciding if a chatbot is an appropriate tool to address programme and community needs. It also contains use cases highlighting the experiences of practitioners working in diverse geographic contexts and issue areas." (Executive summary)
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"In recent years, major natural disasters and public safety accidents have frequently occurred worldwide. In order to deal with various disasters and accidents using rapidly deployable, reliable, efficient, and stable emergency communication networks, all countries in the world are strengthening and
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improving emergency communication network construction and related technology research. Motivated by these situations, in this paper, we provide a state-of-the-art survey of the current situation and development of emergency communication networks. In this detailed investigation, our primary focus is the extensive discussion of emergency communication network technology, including satellite networks, ad hoc networks, cellular networks, and wireless private networks. Then, we explore and analyze the networks currently applied in emergency rescue, such as the 370M narrowband private network, broadband cluster network, and 5G constellation plan. We propose a broadband-narrowband integrated emergency communication network to provide an effective solution for visual dispatch of emergency rescue services. The main findings derived from the comprehensive survey on the emergency communication network are then summarized, and possible research challenges are noted. Lastly, we complete this survey by shedding new light on future directions for the emergency communication network. In the future, the emergency network will develop in the direction of intelligence, integration, popularization, and lower cost, and spaceair-ground-sea integrated networks. This survey provides a reference basis for the construction of networks to mitigate major natural disasters and public safety accidents." (Abstract)
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"The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of early warning dissemination and communication, one of the four pillars of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS), which ITU is leading with the newly defined executive action plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative. The key ob
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jective of the paper is to point to the opportunities offered by the growing availability and reach of communication channels, in particular mobile (cellular) networks and services, which make it possible to reach communities at risk, warn about an imminent disaster and provide people with actionable advice. The paper will highlight some key advantages of an effective emergency warning system using mobile networks. It proposes the use of cell broadcast as a minimum national early warning system. New regulations in Europe are examined to show how regulatory measures can help speed up the adoption process. An overview of legislative approaches on MHEWS adopted by 33 countries is given in the Annex, with examples of regulatory measures. It is argued that the availability, adoption, and usage of mobile network services is a critical component for the successful implementation of the ambitious Early Warnings for All initiative. The intention is to initiate discussions and drive coordination between different stakeholders: government policy-makers in emergency management, hydrometeorology and telecommunication; mobile network operators; international organizations; community organizations; and donors of international humanitarian funding. Finally, we highlight the contribution that ITU can make to capitalize on the opportunities of technology and strengthen the capacity of governments to implement and use nationwide alerting systems to save lives." (Page 1)
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"Typhoon Rai has proven to be one of the most damaging disasters to have hit the Philippines. However, around 400 lives were lost due to Typhoon Rai compared to disasters like Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, when 6,300 people died. The significantly lower number of deaths highlights the country’s experien
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ce and improved coordination of the response to disasters, including the work from the national government, local government units (LGUs), international organisations, and the private sector, including mobile network operators (MNOs)." (Page 1)
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"Digitalization has significantly changed disaster preparedness and management. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are used in all phases of disaster management for knowledge acquisition, information dissemination, communication, as well as control. Examples include the use of global d
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atabases for risk analysis, digital early warning systems, apps for recording damage, and communication with those affected via social media platforms. Prerequisites for the application of ICT in a disaster context include access to an ICT infrastructure, digital literacy, uniform guidelines regarding data protection and accountability, particularly in cooperation with private-sector tech companies, the provision of open data and scalable digital applications, and an orientation toward the needs of the affected persons whom the applications are intended to serve. Digital risks that arise in the course of the digitalization of disaster management are many and diverse. They can arise in connection with the design, use, and regulatory environment of technologies. Critical for risks is the interplay between technology, policy, and human factors. While some risks are inherent in the technology itself, such as the susceptibility of digital infrastructure to extreme natural events, other risks arise only through the human factor, such as data misuse or disinformation. All these risks can significantly impact the use and effectiveness of digital apps in disaster management." (Key findings, page 7)
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"Wie jedes Jahr wird der WeltRisikoIndex durch ein Fokusthema ergänzt. Dieses Jahr beschäftigen wir uns mit der Digitalisierung. Die Autor:innen analysieren auf der Basis qualitativer Forschung die große Bedeutung digitaler Lösungen für die Katastrophenrisikoreduzierung und die vorausschauende
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humanitäre Hilfe, etwa im Rahmen der Frühwarnung, bei der Verarbeitung komplexer Datensätze zur Bedarfsermittlung und der Übermittlung von „Cash Transfers“. Sie machen aber auch deutlich, dass mit der Digitalisierung viele noch ungelöste Probleme einhergehen, auf die Antworten gefunden werden müssen. Aus der Perspektive von Wissenschaft und Praxis erarbeitet der Bericht Forderungen an die nationale und internationale Politik für eine nachhaltige und sozial gerechte Digitalisierung." (Vorwort)
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