Dispatches from Disaster Zones - Communicating with affected communities

“We’ve come a long way,” says Colm Byrne, of the Irish Red Cross, describing his organisation’s innovative communications project in Indonesia.

Following the tsunami there was an emphasis on communication going back to donors and external media, but there was room to improve the accountability and transparency to beneficiaries.

“We quickly realised we could do something. It started with a radio programme and soon evolved into a more complex mix of communication approaches including personal interaction with Red Cross volunteers playing a key role too,” explains Byrne.

The resulting project has gone from strength to strength, says Byrne.

But the lack of attention paid to communications in the planning stages of humanitarian response is a story familiar to many in the international aid community.

Read more on the British Red Cross website.