News

A Whole of Syria Approach

In January 2013, the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) was activated in Syria in response to the escalating civil conflict emergency. The country has now entered its fifth year of fighting and shows few signs of abating. The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that humanitarian needs in Syria have increased twelve-fold since the beginning of the crisis, with 12.2 million people now in dire need of humanitarian assistance. With more than half of the population forced to leave their homes, Syria is the world's largest displacement crisis of our era.

Telecommunications infrastructure has not been immune to the escalating fighting – services in key cities, such as Aleppo, have been brought down by the conflict. As is its mandate, the ETC is responding to ensure the humanitarian community has the communications services it needs to coordinate life-saving operations. A unique way that ETC Syria is facilitating a more effective response is by adopting the Whole of Syria approach. This means that the Cluster is not limited to responding within Syria's borders but takes an all-encompassing view by also responding in the surrounding countries which are absorbing Syrian refugee flows – specifically Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

Against a backdrop of intensifying violence and displacement, and faced with numerous challenges – from restrictions on the importation of vital telecommunications equipment to funding shortfalls – ETC Syria and its partners are working hard to deliver essential services to the humanitarian community across this volatile region.

The ETC recently provided equipment for the new inter-agency radio room in the United Nations (UN) hub in Qamishli and work is underway to upgrade the radio room in Aleppo.  Support is also being provided to maintain the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) VSAT at the Qamishli hub which is providing shared internet connectivity services to other agencies operating there.

An expansion of the security telecommunications network in south-east Turkey is underway in partnership with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS). By providing radio coverage to strategic locations close to the Syrian border, the expansion offers an independent and reliable emergency communications system for humanitarians. A new inter-agency radio room at the UN hub in Gaziantep is also being established as part of the project and the ETC will provide training for new staff.

Even in the face of immense security and logistics challenges, it is clear that the partners' work to deliver ETC services across the region is vital. Whether in Jordan, where the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provides services to humanitarian personnel in Zaatari and Azraq camps or in Syria where the World Food Programme (WFP) provides services and support to the hubs or working with UNDSS in Lebanon and Turkey, the Whole of Syria approach is an inspirational one, especially in such adversity. It sends a message of collaboration and unity that facilitates a more effective response with our partners and, most of all, maximizes our reach to those in need in Syria and beyond. 


By Salma Farouque, ETC Syria Focal Point