The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has been challenged to assist developing countries in preparing for potential disasters rather than wait for tragedies to strike and react when lives have already been lost, reports Newsday.
“There is need for the ITU Telecommunications Development Bureau (ITU-D) to guide countries in the development of Emergency Telecommunications Plans as part of the countries’ preparedness which would incorporate network resilience and redundancy,” Mlambo said. More than 700 delegates from nearly 100 countries are attending a forum which was organised by the UN agency.
Member states of the ITU also came under attack from Tuvalu, a small island in south western Pacific Ocean, accusing them of not taking treaties on disaster management seriously.