SADC offers assistance to small islands

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has extended a helping hand to Indian Ocean island countries struggling to cope with the constant threat of natural disasters. SADC executive secretary Prega Ramsamy on Wednesday told delegates attending a week-long international summit in Mauritius that the organisation was prepared to assist in the development of disaster management systems, including a regional early warning alert. Top government and UN officials are meeting in the capital, Port Louis, to gauge the progress made in helping 37 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) overcome the myriad economic and environmental difficulties that threaten their stability. Ramsamy highlighted that much of the assitance to the Indian Ocean SIDS would be guided by the existing SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology. The protocol emphasises "deeper regional economic and social integration". "SADC can make a specific contribution ... through technical cooperation and the sharing of its own experience in these areas," he explained. He pointed out that regional island states shared similar development challenges with small landlocked SADC member countries, such as Lesotho and Swaziland. While Mauritius, currently the only SIDS member of SADC, was spared by the tsunami disaster that befell parts of southeast Asia and the coast of northeast Africa, there was a growing urgency to better address disaster preparedness in the Indian Ocean region. Last year tropical cyclone Gafilo ripped through Madagascar, leaving scores dead and thousands without shelter; the Comoran archipelago continues to experience seasonal flooding. "For seven months of the year we are on alert for cyclones. This has been terrible for long-term planning and very detrimental to our economy," Malagasy economic advisor, Vola Razafindramiandra, told IRIN. While Indian Ocean SIDS have welcomed SADC's assistance, they point out that sustainable development hinges on increased access to information and technology communication. Mohammned Abdallah, senior economics researcher at the University of Comoros, told IRIN: "A regional early warning system is very welcome and will save thousands of lives, but we also ask that international and regional groups do not forget that we also want to accelerate development. We need more access to technology, especially because of our distance to the main centres of the world." Better and more affordable access to information and communication technologies has become a key talking point at the Mauritius meeting, since small island communities are saddled with poor telecommunications infrastructure, high costs for computers, restrictive telecommunications policies and a shortage of trained personnel. Abdallah stressed that increased access to the internet could improve the delivery of essential social services, such as education, which would become more accessible through distance learning, and healthcare via telemedicine. "More computers and phone lines will mean that we will no longer feel isolated, and this can assist in helping us deal effectively with other issues, including trade and security," Razafindramiandra said. A study conducted in 2004 by the University of Antananarivo showed that telecommunications access in Madagascar was sparse, with just 55,000 phone lines and 63,000 cellular phones. This means that just six out of every 1,000 people has a phone - and only two of them have access to the internet. Razafindramiandra urged greater help from the SADC in pressuring donors to follow through with promises made at the Mauritius meeting.