ICTworks

When disaster strikes, humanitarian aid organizations often play a pivotal role in relief efforts. Communicating with affected populations is one of the many challenges these groups face during a response operation. The Communicating During Disasters survey asked representatives of major humanitarian aid organizations to reflect on how their operations in the field communicate with disaster-affected communities.

Interview subjects were specifically asked about “two-way communication,” in which the potential beneficiaries constituents of humanitarian aid are not simply targeted with messaging and information, but are also able to respond and convey their own messages or feedback to organizations providing aid.

In most areas, local media are a logical partner for organizations looking for ways to connect with disaster-affected communities. Yet the relationship between aid organizations and local media is often characterized by mistrust, miscommunication and misunderstanding.

Although many organizations are able to share success stories in which they overcame issues of distrust or miscommunication to partner effectively with local media, few have institutionalized these efforts to ensure that two-way communication with affected communities is prioritized across all regions or projects. The two areas in which progress is critical are improving the relationship between humanitarian organizations and local media, and ensuring that humanitarian and donor organizations prioritize two-way communication.

The three sections of the Communicating During Disasters report summarize the results of these interviews regarding:

Communications with affected communities
• Perceptions of local media
• Engagement with local media

The majority of officials interviewed for this project acknowledged that two-way communication does not receive the attention it should in humanitarian relief efforts. The majority also recognized that local media outlets have the potential to play a key role in bridging this communication gap.

Although many organizations are able to share success stories in which they overcame issues of distrust or miscommunication to partner effectively with local media, few organizations have been able to institutionalize these efforts to ensure that two-way communication with affected communities is prioritized across all regions or projects.