humanitarian.info

I previously wrote about Imogen Wall’s post-tsunami report The Right To Know: The Challenge of Public Information and Accountability in Aceh and Sri Lanka, which laid out the case that there is a right to information in the same way as there is a right to shelter. The Red Cross World Disasters Report 2005, picked up on this theme and extended it to the technology, demonstrating that “Information and communications technology must be recognised as a form of aid in itself.” Both of these reports were entirely correct, yet the humanitarian community has largely failed to address their conclusions. No surprises there.

Wall has now published (via BBC World Service Trust) a policy briefing that recapitulates and updates her original points, entitled Left in the dark: The unmet need for information in emergency response (PDF) and an accompanying article entitled After Disaster: Information for Life. While I might disagree with some of the solutions she proposes (if you think I ever agree 100% with anybody, you obviously haven’t been reading this blog long enough…), these reports should be on the shelf not just in every communications and public information unit, but all programme units as well – a reminder that our work is not just about providing food, water, shelter, but about enabling beneficiaries to regain control over their own lives.