So as I mentioned in another blog post I have been asked to return to Ethiopia to help assess feasible approaches to integrating (I)nformation (C)ommunication (T)echnoloy (ICT) into a drought early warning program.
While for many project the T often supersedes the I & C. I’d like to think that this project has evolved in a bit of a different way.
Back in 2006 I had the opportunity to support an international NGO with a regional office in Addis Ababa. A severe drought had just affected the southern pastoralists communities and all but decimated their primary livelihoods- their livestock. So how does this affect the health of communities? And for those of us who think primarily in terms of human health, how does this connect?
Well its all an intertwined ecosystem. Between access to water, rainfall, growth of pasture, ability for animals to produce milk for human consumption. And during times of stress the ability of people to buy and sell in the markets to purchase grain for food. And access to food or the lack there of… spins a dangerous web for only the health of already undernourished children but of pregnant women, the elderly and communities as a whole.
For this project a public health lens for drought early warning needs to come from the perspective of the communities. An as I learned, it’s just as much about the pasture as it is about the number of visits to the health center.
One of the reasons this project came about was to complement the existing early warning systems. In the minds of many, the existing more traditional EWS often struggle to collect timely and actionable information to prevent the deleterious outcome of droughts/famine.
And so the approach began with conversations with women in Tuka, Arganne, and Danmbi. (focus groups) and learning about the communities perspective on early signs of drought, coping mechanisms and ongoing community needs.
Now 6 years later this community based early warning system which has shared information from ola villages to international offices and back in various information formats, the next steps are to explore what opportunities lie ahead for all those involved from an ICT perspective.
Many of the key people in this project are still involved, from the local NGO staff, community leaders and members in one region, as well as new members due to the expansion of the program. The people who drove the process, information systems were built revised and implemented over years before considering new forms of technology beyond electricity, excel software and email.
And now onward ho.. to explore ICT options. We’ll see if there is a fit, what type of approach may set the path for a set of feasible options and what the future may hold.
hmmthoughts 