The need for a digital aid framework in humanitarian relief

Humanitarian relief organizations are increasingly becoming reliant upon the use of Information Technology & Telecommunications (IT&T) for the distribution of aid to refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) throughout the world. Traditionally, basic telecommunications infrastructure like the public switch telephone network (PSTN) has been used to transmit important information but today humanitarian relief organizations are attempting to utilize emerging technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS) telephones and geographic information systems (GIS). For the greater part IT&T utilization by relief organizations has happened in an adhoc manner in response to specific events. This paper proposes the use of a complete end-to-end digital aid framework that will help humanitarian relief organizations respond better to crises. Preliminary findings indicate that web-based information delivery will play a pivotal role in the implementation of this framework.