Damaged buildings force Radio Cool in Leogane to broadcast from the streets. Photo: Anne Poulsen/IMS

Engaging Haitian media in the production of humanitarian information is key at this point in time in Haiti. A centre in Port-au-Prince is to facilitate collaboration between Haitian media and international support organisations. Report from the IMS Haiti Response Team

IMS is setting up a facilitation centre in Port-au-Prince for journalist associations and organisations. The centre will include space for humanitarian information in order to connect Haitian media with the humanitarian aid providers.

- We are focusing on supporting local media in working together in this time of crisis in order to  maximize the dissemination of factual and life saving information, explains IMS team coordinator Peter-Bastian Halberg over Skype from Port-au-Prince.

The media centre will facilitate involvement of Haitian media in the production and dissemination of vital humanitarian information in the disaster-affected areas.

The centre is being set up after consultation with Haitian media and in close coordination with other international media support organisations to compliment other initiatives, explains IMS Executive Director, Jesper Højberg:

- Efforts are already being made to align the production of humanitarian information. It is the first time this is happening and it is a very efficient way of producing and spreading vital information to the public in a crisis area.

Jesper Højberg is referring to the network Communication with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC), which is a group comprising the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Internews, BBC World Trust, Thomson-Reuters foundation, Red Cross International and Save the Children UK. IMS is also a partner within this group is led by Internews, which has been appointed the lead role by OCHA to coordinate media support efforts at field level.

In a separate initiative, Reporters Without Borders has set up a centre, which offers working stations for individual journalists.

Engaging Haitian media is key

The focus of attention for the IMS facilitated media centre will be to bring Haitian media into the loop to engage them in the production of humanitarian information and further spreading of news.

- This is important in order to give Haitian journalists an opportunity to start working again and generate a much-needed flow of  information. This is their home base, they must be involved, and the international community has an obligation to get them involved now, says Jesper Højberg.

Experience from crises around the world have shown that, although very efficient, humanitarian information systems run by international organisations can develop into parallel structures that may compete with and cannibalise the national media sector with the result of damaging the domestic media sector for a very long time.

Another important reason for reactivating local media as quickly as possible, says Jesper Højberg, is that there is a need for local media to focus on local stories during all phases of rebuilding a country following a severe crisis:

- Local journalists need to be one the ball and follow relief efforts in order to disclose corruption and misconduct. Foreign correspondents are focused on the humanitarian crisis and so it is up to the home-grown media to stay alert, he explains.

Mapping continues

The mapping of the state of the communications infrastructure, conducted by IMS in cooperation with the humanitarian mapping NGO Cart ONG, is well underway. CartONG has compiled data from a number of media support organisations concerning the communication network, which is plotted into interactive, Internet based maps that are made accessible to all actors.

- The mapping initiative has been well-received by other international media support organisations. Already a number of organisations have provided CartONG with information. Furthermore, the lead media support organisation at field level,  Internews, has just committed to sharing their data on radio stations with CartONG, says Peter-Bastian Halberg.

He explains that solid information helps increase the accuracy of the maps, and precise maps offer an accurate overview of the needs, enabling international organisations to act with speed and relevant support.

Next challenge: Information bottlenecks

Realising that most relief efforts have been focused on the Port-au-Prince area, the IMS Haiti Response Team travelled to the districts last week to meet with local media and compile hands-on information:

- Destroyed antennas, lack of power generators and the general lack of stable communication lines between Port-au-Prince makes it very difficult for information to travel from the capital to other towns in Haiti, explains Robert Shaw.

This is very alarming in view of the fact that half a million people have migrated out of the capital due to lack of shelter.

- As a result of this, local stations outside Port au Prince are becoming increasingly important for the communication with affected people. Moreover, the hurricane season is slowly approaching and that increases the need to communicate warnings and other crisis messages, says Peter-Bastian Halberg.

In the coming days IMS is therefore looking into the issue in close consultation with Haitian media and international partners.