infoasaid publishes Nepal media landscape guide

Nepal is settling down after several years of social upheaval and radical political change.

But it remains one of the poorest countries in Asia, at constant risk of major natural disasters. These range from devastating earthquakes to droughts and floods.

However, Nepal's private media is flourishing in a new era of democracy and press freedom.

More than 300 FM radio stations – most of which are linked by content sharing networks - offer aid agencies new ways of keeping in touch with local communities.

And more than third of all Nepalese own a mobile phone.

Find out how aid agencies can establish effective two-way communication with Nepal’s most isolated and vulnerable communities by consulting infoasaid’s new Nepal Media and Telecoms Landscape Guide.

Click here to read it.  

Cote d’Ivoire Media Landscape Guide updated following end of civil war

Infoasaid has completely revised and updated the Cote d’Ivoire Media and Telecoms Landscape Guide following the overthrow of former President Laurent Gbagbo and the end of the country’s civil war.

The media scene has changed considerably following the accession to power of President Alassane Ouattara in April 2011.

The country, which had been split into separate government and rebel controlled areas for more than eight years, is once more reunited under a single administration.

But the final stages of Cote d’Ivoire’s long-running conflict triggered a new humanitarian emergency. More than half a million Ivorians fled from their homes to escape conflict during the first quarter of this year and most are still afraid to return.

Click here to read the August 2011 revision to infoasaid’s Media and Telecommunications Guide to Cote d’Ivoire.  It can help you to reach them.

Targeted, reliable information can help save lives in crisis-affected communities. As famine is declared in neighbouring Somalia, we’re helping ActionAid to improve vital communication with drought-affected populations in northern Kenya.

Open source mobile solutions such as Frontline SMS and Freedom Fone are enabling two-way communication with vulnerable communities.

In any emergency, be it natural disaster or man-made, people's lives are turned upside down. Knowing what's happening, where to go for assistance and who to call for help is crucial to their survival and recovery. The goal of the 'infoasaid' project is to help humanitarian organisations integrate two way communication into their emergency programmes. This in turn will improve the quality and coverage of humanitarian response. The 'Communication is Aid' animation is designed to demonstrate the positive impact of two way communication with crisis affected populations.

South Sudan

In a country that lives in the midst of a chronic crisis, engaging busy relief and development workers to consider the information needs of people affected by a possible future emergency can be challenging.  This was the task for the team sent to Juba, South Sudan by the infoasaid project in preparation for the referendum and the expected increase of returnees from the North.

Since the end of the civil war in 2005 and the signing of the peace agreement 2.5 million people have returned to Southern Sudan without being fully integrated, putting enormous strain on an already fragile infrastructure.  Since the referendum the number of returnees is increasing and there are fears of humanitarian crisis as resources are simply too scarce to meet demand. Should there be a resumption of hostilities, this disaster will be compounded as populations move en masse across the country and the basic infrastructure crumbles.

Studio Manager for the Lifeline Bulletins in Islamabad, Pakistan

In response to the devastating floods in northern Pakistan, lifeline radio programmes are to be broadcast in the most severely affected areas through the BBC Urdu service.

With much of the region's transport and communication links destroyed, the programmes will plug a critical gap in delivering information in the immediate aftermath of the disaster using one of the only media channels still available - radio.