Missions

Between August 2010 and February 2011, TSF trained 102 staff members from organisations and humanitarian agencies in Asia and Central and Latin America to improve effective use of telecommunications service in emergency situations.

TSF developed an information system to facilitate pregnant women's access to malaria treatments on the Burmese border.

On 11 March 2011 an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale triggered a tsunami in North-East Japan, with 10-metre waves ravaging the coastal areas and causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, with the explosion of the reactor of the Fukushima power station. The destruction of infrastructure, the shortage of fuel, and many power cuts to the capital make the situation extremely complex. TSF deployed from its base in Bangkok to provide its emergency communications facilities. The mission drew to a close due to the high risk of the nuclear alert.

At the request of the Colombian government, a TSF team assisted the various actors in the crisis unit, including UNDAC, to help the populations by the flood at the end of December 2010. Technical support was provided in the affected areas including Atlantico and Baranquilla.

TSF strengthens the coordination of national and international relief efforts in the remote Mentawai islands following an earthquake-induced tsunami.

The heavy rains in the autumn of 2010 caused major floods in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia. A TSF team deployed to the Hat Yai province, where water levels had reached 3m, to assess the state of communications networks. TSF supported relief efforts as well as the local population.

Severe floods in July 2010 killed more than 1,500 people. TSF supported survivors who found themselves in utter destitution by offering free calls in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. In addition, TSF telecom specialists provided communications facilities to UNDAC and OCHA teams in Punjab and Islamabad.

To combat the dengue epidemic that has been spreading in Nicaragua since October 2010, TSF set up an innovative system to monitor the spread of the disease. This system, based on simple SMS, enables the rapid centralisation of reliable data from several dozen health centres. This initiative set up in partnership with the PATH NGO is intensely used by SILAIS, a crisis unit mobilised by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health.

June 2010: The situation is tense in the city of Osh, where clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks have killed more than 2,000 people. 400,000 people are fleeing the violence, and the city's humanitarian and security situation is worrying. A TSF team deploys to the heart of the conflict to connect the humanitarian organisations present on site.

TSF trained 16 members of the national Chilean organizations ONEMI and SUBTEL on emergency telecommunications.

An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale occurred in the Maule region of Chile. As the country called for international assistance, TSF coordinated with the Chilean authorities to provide telecommunication assistance to the local and international community and populations.

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti is a humanitarian crisis that remains engraved in the memories of people across the globe. With more than 220,000 fatalities, and over 1 million people left without a roof over their heads, relief efforts were titanic. With the support of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations body (ECHO), TSF provided satellite telecommunications support for the humanitarian response community, including the government and the United Nations, whilst working to provide communications services for thousands of families.