Missions

Within the framework of operational partnerships with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Télécoms Sans Frontières is the go-to organisation for providing technical expertise and training workshops on the application of emergency telecommunications in the humanitarian context.

The April 2009 earthquake in Italy left 260 people dead and more than a thousand wounded. The onsite TSF team provided emergency satellite lines to the civil protection coordination centres.

At the end of 2008, more than 23,000 people were affected by heavy floods and landslides in the provinces of Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui, Panama. At the request of UNDAC, TSF deployed on November 28 from its base in Nicaragua to support UN coordination and assessments.

Heavy rains at the end of 2007 caused severe floods that affected several communities in northern and eastern Bolivia. In addition to the 48 fatalities and 5 missing, more than 40,000 families were affected and depended on humanitarian aid. OCHA requested that TSF provide IT and telecom support to UNDAC teams assessing the needs of survivors. Two coordination centres were also connected by TSF in La Paz and Santa Cruz.

Torrential rains fell on the Aosta Valley, the TSF team, equipped with 16 satellite telephone lines, arrived at the Emergency Command Centre 14 hours after the official announcement of the request for international assistance. First NGO present in the field, the team assesses the damages.