Technology and communication for a new humanitarian intervention

Technology and communication for a new humanitarian intervention. Experimenting the website Cholera Cafè analyses the evolution in humanitarian assistance stressing the importance of a multidisciplinary and polyvalent approach to health, underlying the primary role played by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in aiding the knowledge exchange and the continuous interaction between professionals working in different international scenarios. The authors will then lead the reader through the Cholera Cafè experiment, a pilot website for practitioners deployed in international relief and development projects whether by NGOs or International Organizations.

"Bridging the humanitarian information gap: this is the mission of the website Cholera Cafè that is presented in this book, and it is certainly one of the primary objectives to achieve in order to build those virtual infrastructures that are giving a new meaning to the construction of Cooperation and to the defence of the right to health in every part of the world."
(Luigi Nicolais, Italian Minister for Reform and Innovation in the Public Administration)

"The use of Information and Communication Technology to fight disease and poverty is a challenging goal. Through its potential to improve access to services, information sharing and job opportunities, ICT has become an essential tool for the achievement of development goals. This book provides an articulate compendium to the understanding of the multilayered and dynamic knowledge background required of a humanitarian operator."
(Vincenzo Vullo, Director of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of Rome La Sapienza)

Laura E. Pacifici, Public Health and Emergency physician, leads the Office for International Health Cooperation and Development of the Italian Red Cross (ItRC). She teaches Epidemiology and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rome La Sapienza and International Humanitarian Law in the Italian Red Cross.

Flavia Riccardo, Infectious Disease physician and PhD researcher, has worked in health projects in Africa and South Asia and collaborates with the Office for International Health Cooperation and Development of the ItRC. Among her research projects, she has set up with Laura Pacifici a pilot website called Cholera Cafè.