Telecommunications vital for assistance in Haiti

13 April 2004
by Alejandra Araúz

The people of Haiti are gradually trying to restore something approaching normality, following the political upheavals that gripped the Caribbean nation in February. But basic services like electricity, garbage collection and communications remain virtually paralyzed, affecting other activities like health, education and even humanitarian operations.

Humanitarian activities to assist vulnerable sections of the population, especially outside the capital, have been severely hampered by the lack of communications infrastructure, and this has become a central element of the Red Cross operation in Haiti.

In view of the need to improve the coordination of humanitarian operations and the security of staff, the International Federation and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been working with the Haitian Red Cross and other National Societies to repair and complete the installation of a nationwide Red Cross VHF network.

“As soon as we arrived, we all agreed that one of the main priorities was the rehabilitation of the VHF radio network in the whole country. In Haiti, landline telephones are unreliable, and cellular networks have limited coverage, making VHF radio a viable solution,” explained Daniel Bolaños, telecommunications delegate in the Federation’s Panama-based Pan-American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU).

As well as Bolaños, support for the one-month has come from the ICRC and Spanish Red Cross, which has sent technical equipment and two telecommunication delegates.

On 8 March, the team travelled to St Marc, Gonaïves and Cap-Haïtien to install two repeaters, as well as VHF posts and antennas. VHF mobiles were also installed in two Haitian Red Cross ambulances, one serving Gonaïves and another in Cap-Haïtien.

In the third week of March, the Federation delegates visited the Haitian Red Cross regional branches of Mirbalais and Jacmel, and found the VHF equipment to be in good order and functioning.

The last part of the mission was focus on rehabilitating the network in the south. The team checked the Haitian Red Cross VHF posts in the branch offices of Les Cayes, Anse-à-Veau and Petit-Goâve. These branches can now communicate with the Haitian Red Cross headquarters in Port-au-Prince. Yet a fifth repeater is needed south of Miragoane and will be installed shortly to allow higher quality coverage.

“Up to now, ten of 13 regional Haitian Red Cross branches have been visited and the VHF posts repaired and checked,” Bolaños said. “The VHF posts, antennas, solar panels and batteries have been provided with funding from the Federation as part of a long term programme to increase the organization’s disaster response capacity in man-made and natural disasters.”

“Once the VHF network is technically functional, the important task of follow-up training for Haitian Red Cross radio operators and volunteers at the head quarter and in the branches begins. This should be one of the most important parts of the Haiti telecom project,” he added.

On a regional level, the Federation is initiating a Caribbean Red Cross HF radio network, which aims to train National Societies in disaster preparedness, and to encourage more contact, alert systems and the sharing of experiences between people who are exposed to hurricanes on a regular basis.