- As war rages in Sudan, the Emergency Communication Cluster (ETC), a global network offering shared communications services during humanitarian crises, has revealed it needs an additional $6 million to sustain and expand ICT services across the country to support humanitarian operations.
- According to the organisation, it will cost $6.3 million in 2024 to continue providing these services across the country, but only 5% of that amount has been funded.
- “So far in 2024, only the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has allocated GBP 240,385 ($308,200). This contribution means that the ETC is 5% funded out of the required USD 6.3 million. Therefore, an additional USD 6 million is still required to meet the funding objectives for 2024,” ETC highlighted in a report.
ETC also mentioned in the report that unreliable telecommunications infrastructure and frequent power outages remain major obstacles, complicating efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and assist those in need.
Since the war began in 2023, the telecommunications sector has suffered massive setbacks including infrastructural damages and Internet blackout while the telcos in the country have been struggling to regain full control of their services.
The global network noted that the partial restoration of services by MNOs ― Zain and Sudani ― has provided limited connectivity which has overtime been interrupted due to power cuts and infrastructure damage.
Meanwhile, efforts aimed at enhancing connectivity have involved discussions with Sudan’s National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) leading to strategies to import essential equipment, such as radios and network infrastructure, in incremental batches.
It is also planning a pilot project at Alashy Camp in Port Sudan to provide connectivity services to approximately 600 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). In collaboration with the Global ETC, WFP, UNICEF, and IOM, the project aims to improve access to information and communication services for IDPs.
In May 2024, Over 90 groups called for Sudan telecoms infrastructure restoration following SpaceX announcement that Starlink, which has served as an alternative, will cease operations. The organisations feared that it would have a “disproportionate impact on civilians and aid organisations trying to reach them.”
In February 2024, nearly 30 million Sudanese experienced a nationwide telecommunications outage, leaving them without Internet or phone access for over a month, according to the statement issued by the groups.
