Attachments
The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) in the Pacific is led by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Pacific Multi-Country Office (PMCO) and was activated in 2016 under the structure of the Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) to support telecommunications preparedness in the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Highlights
• Funding from the Government of France enabled Pacific ETC and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) to train 22 National Emergency Response Team (NERT) members in the Solomon Islands, strengthening national technical capacity and advancing locally led preparedness.
• Pacific ETC completed a week-long follow-up mission in Nauru to inspect, repair, and maintain the national radio network originally donated by WFP in 2022. Working with national authorities, the team also trained 22 national first responders, strengthening long-term national capacity in emergency communications.
• A new Emergency Communications Regulatory Sandbox (ECRS) is being established through a dedicated Working Group, with ETC Pacific representing the disaster management community. The sandbox will help Pacific Island countries rapidly deploy critical communications technologies during emergencies and test streamlined regulatory processes in advance to strengthen readiness and coordination.