Received: from ATHENA-AS-WELL.MIT.EDU by po7.MIT.EDU (5.61/4.7) id AA08966; Thu, 31 Mar 94 22:19:33 EST Received: from auvm.american.edu by MIT.EDU with SMTP id AA00744; Thu, 31 Mar 94 22:19:29 EST Message-Id: <9404010319.AA00744@MIT.EDU> Received: from AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU by AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9067; Thu, 31 Mar 94 21:32:29 EST Received: from AMERICAN.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@AUVM) by AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 3528; Thu, 31 Mar 1994 21:32:20 -0500 Date: Thu, 31 Mar 1994 21:31:00 EST Reply-To: Volunteers in Technical Assistance Sender: Technology Transfer in International Development From: Volunteers in Technical Assistance Subject: Your DevelopNet News for April. To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@ @@ @@@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@ @@@@@@ @@ @@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@ @@ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@ On-Line News and Views on @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@@@@@@ @@ Technology Transfer in @@ @@@ @@ @@ @@ @@ @@@@@@@ @@ International Development %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% @@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% April 1994 Volume 4, No. 4 IN THIS ISSUE NETWORKING WATCH Sharing Disaster Information LITERATURE REVIEWS Irrigation in Tree Crops Missed Opportunities for Immunization ORGANIZATIONS A Forum for Biological Conservation VITA PROJECTS Renewable Energy for Indonesian Islands ANNOUNCEMENTS Urban Health Challenges * * * DevelopNet News is published monthly by Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) in Arlington, Virginia, USA. For additional information, please see the end of this newsletter. N e t w o r k i n g W a t c h SHARING DISASTER INFORMATION by Hal Fleming A relief worker in Northern Kenya with responsibility for coordinating assistance to several thousand Somali and Sudanese refugees needs veri fication that promised food and medical supplies have arrived in Mombasa and are en route by truck convoy. A provincial paramedical team at an earthquake site in India urgently needs to exchange information in real time with specialists at hospital centers in Bombay and Los Angeles on treatment protocols for severely injured victims. And in Washington, D.C., decision makers considering an international appeal for southern Africa drought victims, need to know what pledges and contributions have been made by other countries before deciding on the U.S. contribution. How can this information be managed to everyone's advantage? Already, there have been rapid advances in information and telecommunications technology and many leading international organizations have realized the importance of providing information. Now it is important to persuade the custodians of relevant databases to share them, and to provide the means for them to do so. With the multitude of electronic highways through terrestrial internet systems and by satellite, it is now possible to link emergency managers, specialists and databases on a global basis. A relief worker in the field with a suitcase-size terminal can now dial up colleagues in the field as well as headquarters in London or New York. Very soon the worker will only need a hand-held telephone set to call any number in the world through satellite systems. Thus, the technology has arrived and these systems are being used for messaging and for security. But emergency organizations have been slow to provide access to databases containing dynamic management information on resources, logistics and specific relief actions. Most major bilateral donors of international humanitarian assistance advocate the need for close coordination and the sharing of information. Unfortunately, neither urging nor the availability of the technology has brought significant improvement. Some effort is being made on the fringes of the problem at university centers and private voluntary organizations, including VITA, through the establishment of disaster information networks. Except for seismic and weather monitoring inform ation, the data accessible through these networks are mainly of a his toric or static nature. While valuable as background, they provide few tools for the decision maker at headquarters or in the front lines of disasters. Recognizing the need to improve the sharing of predictive, operational, and post disaster information, several meetings were convened by the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and by the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs throughout 1992 to establish a conceptual framework and a plan of action. Other regular participants included the Interna tional Federation of the Red Cross; the Center for Research on the Epi demiology of Disasters in Louvain, Belgium; the Pan American Health Organization; the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Response Agency; the Center for Public Service Communication, and VITA. Going beyond the conceptual, these working groups outlined information needs at the pre-emergency, response, postemergency and rehabilitation phases. They identified information sources and drew up a broad plan of action. Other workshops focused on the use of common definitions in disasters and emergencies and on the ideal hardware and software plat forms. The concept became known as International Emergency Readiness and Response Information System (IERRIS). Its goal was to promote the con nectivity of emergency management databases, but not to develop a new, separate system of computer-based information. Underscoring the importance of the 1992 planning exercise, the U.S gov ernment provided some support in 1993 to establish an IERRIS project unit Geneva and the activity was highlighted in resolutions of the UN General Assembly. Indeed, the IERRIS program began with enthusiasm, generating interest in the development information community as a whole. But realization of the concept appears far off. Part of the problem is that IERRIS has come to mean different things to many people. Is the system to be used principally by donor governments, by emergency man agement agencies, by relief workers in the field, or by all these groups? Moreover, ways must be found to persuade major participants to make their emergency program information accessible to the international community either on a limited or public basis. The development of a sharing spirit appears to be at the heart of the matter. The major participants in UN emergency operations, have fully automated program budget and supply systems, but apparently have only been marginally involved in the development of IERRIS. Some of the UN agencies do have a public access windows through the Internet, but the information provided is mostly for public affairs purposes and provides little on program operations. Going beyond the UN, neither CARE, Save the Children or World Vision among the major private voluntary organ izations active in international disasters have been involved, although as indicated the International Red Cross has. A further consideration would be the need to include national and regional emergency management agencies which are typically the end users of pre-emergency, response and rehabilitation data. The original reason for IERRIS was to assist the emergency manager in facilitating services to victims of disaster. If this is to remain the focus, there should be a return to the initial objective that called for an inventory of databases and the means by which they can be made acces sible. It is understood that operational agencies will want to keep con fidential certain files and certain elements of other files. However, it is now technically simpler than it was to provide proper controls or to generate edited records. It is generally known that predictive data for natural disasters such as seismic monitoring and weather information from meteorological satel lites are readily available to the international emergency management community. Additionally, data on man-made and technological hazards are rapidly coming on line. What the emergency manager needs beyond this is timely and reliable data on the availability and movement of relief sup plies; the displacement of populations; the capacity of on-the-ground resources such as ports, hospitals and airfields; disease surveillance; pest infestation and similar information. To operate effectively, IERRIS must involve at the outset people who are in direct touch with field realities. [The author is director of VITA's disaster information resources program.] L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w s IRRIGATION IN TREE CROPS Dan Sprinklers, 1993. "Micro-Irrigation in Tree Crops." African Farming (November / December), pages 29-30. Developing Countries Farm Network, "Every Drop Counts." Op. cit., page 30. If you are growing crops and need to save water, microirrigate. Microir rigation delivers water to less than 100% of the crop area. Probably the best known method is drip irrigation, extensively developed by agricul tural research workers in Israel for dry areas of the world and now widely used. This article by DAN Sprinklers (a private-sector Israeli firm) describes microsprinkling, which can be used not only for applying water to crops, but to distribute fertilizer and herbicides, to protect plants from frost, and to cool greenhouses and poultry houses. The authors found that microsprinkling was more efficient in fruit yield than any other method for irrigating citrus orchards. The amount of water can be easily matched to the soil and climatic conditions and there are no problems of water runoff or ponding on the soil surface. Microsprinkling systems are easily adjusted to a wide variety of dis charge rates, the size and shape of the wetted area, and the size of the tree. A related article supplied by the Developing Countries Farm Network describes how to make simple drip irrigators from jars, cans, or plastic bottles. It also provides guidelines for making sure that water used for household purposes is saved and used for plants. MISSED OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMMUNIZATION S.S. Hutchins, H.A.F.M. Jansen, S.E. Robertson, P. Evans, and R.J. Kim- Farley, 1993. "Studies of Missed Opportunities for Immunization in Developing and Industrialized Countries." Bulletin of the World Health Organization, vol. 71, no. 5, pages 549-560. Abstract in French. According to the World Health Organization (Geneva), immunizations in 1991 prevented three million deaths from measles, neonatal tetanus and pertussis, and some 530,000 cases of paralytic polio. Are children well covered by immunization programs? The best immunization coverages today are 85% of the world's children for tuberculosis (BCG vaccine) and 81% for three doses of oral polio vaccine, with high coverages also for diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus and measles. However, only 42% of pregnant women in developing countries receive two doses of tetanus toxoid. WHO's goal for the year 2000 is immunizing 90% of the world's children by their first year, but achieving the goal will require additional effort. The sad fact is that many children have opportunities to get immunized and miss them. Why is this so? According to Hutchins (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia [USA]), Jansen (Ministry of Health, Zanzibar, Tanzania) and their colleagues (WHO), the most impor tant reason is failure to administer several immunizations at the same time. This happens even when several vaccines are dissolved in the same bottle. The explanation: standard clinical practice requires that a partly used bottle be discarded at the end of an immunization session, and in poor countries the health worker may be reluctant to open a new bottle for just one or two patients, because of the cost of the vaccine. Other reasons for missed opportunities, in decreasing order of impor tance, are (1) the health worker incorrectly judges that for medical reasons the patient should not be immunized; (2) the worker is afraid of wasting scarce supplies or forgets to offer the immunization; (3) logistical problems: poor scheduling, vaccine shortage, etc.; and (4) parental refusal, which is important only three percent of the time. O r g a n i z a t i o n s A FORUM FOR BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION Conslink is an electronic conference covering all topics of biological conservation. It was established by the Smithsonian Institution as a means of improving communication among individuals and institutions around the world. Distributed through Internet, the forum is accessible from many academic, commercial, and governmental networks in almost all parts of the globe. Conslink hosts a discussion group on conservation-related topics inclu ding dates of meetings, symposia and workshops; new publications; and grants and job openings that have become available. Conslink also has a Bulletin Board feature which lists conferences, references, addresses of nongovernmental organizations, and conservation newsletters. Subscrip tion and use of Conslink are free of charge. To subscribe, send an e- mail message to ; the text of the message should say "sub conslink " without the quotation marks. The Smithsonian Institution is a group of U.S. museums and research facilities that receives funds from the U.S. government. Information: Michael Stuwe, Conservation and Research Center, Smithson ian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia 22630; tel: +1 (703) 635-6542; fax: +1 (703) 635-6651; e-mail: . V I T A P r o j e c t s RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR INDONESIAN ISLANDS For several hundred residents of two small islands in Indonesia, techni cians recently flipped switches that delivered electric power to their homes for the first time. With the coming of electricity, the residents of Tanglad, a small village on the island of Nusa Penida, and Bonto, on Sumbawa, were able to put away the smoky kerosene lamps and candles they had depended on all their lives. For the first time they could power radio and television sets, opening up new worlds of information and entertainment. Other beneficiaries at Tanglad, located on a hillside 1,000 kilometers east of the capital, Jakarta, include a school, a health clinic, a com munity center and a government office. Coming soon is the first commer cial use of electric power to grind corn, which now is ground by hand by the women of the village. Four-hundred kilometers further east, Bonto has not experienced such dramatic changes. Children are still bussed over narrow, bumpy roads to school in the coastal town of Bima. But life is improving: in addition to their newly lighted homes, the villagers now have a new community center for meetings and recreation. Both communities are making use of standalone photovoltaic-wind-diesel hybrid power generation systems developed by Integrated Power Corpora tion (IPC), a subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Corporation located in Rockville, Maryland. The project is designed to test whether such sys tems might provide a cost effective answer to rural electrification needs at thousands of other remote locations scattered throughout the Indonesian archipelago. With 100,000 of its communities not yet reached by electric power, Indonesia's interest in the promise of renewable energy is understand able. Many of the unserved communities are located in remote areas and on small islands. In all, there are 13,677 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. Indonesia's 180 million people make it the world's fifth largest country. Because so many of its people remain without electri city, it also remains one of the least developed countries. As Indo nesia's Minister of Research and Technology, B. J. Habibie, recently put it, Indonesia "must look ahead and . . . apply appropriate technologies and the necessary entrepreneurship to build sustainable rural electri fication systems . . . to increase the standard of living and develop commerce and small industries. The Government intends to endorse the development and implementation of pilot projects in rural areas of the country using various types of primary energy conversion technologies." Linking unserved communities to the country's existing power grid by transmission lines is not feasible. Even if the technical and financial obstacles could somehow be overcome, there is not enough power to meet the needs of present customers, let alone to serve new ones. The short fall in the Jakarta area alone has been estimated at 2,000 megawatts. As a result, many factories and businesses have been unable to start up or have had to shelve plans for expansion. The Indonesian government also sees increased use of renewable energy sources as one way to reduce the $1,500 million it is spending yearly on fuel subsidies. Officials hope to limit the use of prime diesel power for electrification of rural communities. The 100 kilowatt-hour-per-day hybrid systems installed by IPC in Indo nesia each serve 400 households. They were designed to make optimum use of sunlight and wind, two renewable energy resources readily available there. To guarantee 24 hours a day reliability, the systems' photovol taic arrays and wind generators are backed up by diesel generators. Surveys of the two sites suggest backup will be needed less than 10% of the time. Similar standalone facilities constructed by IPC already are working in Australia and Mexico. After exploring other options that collected too little data at too high a cost, IPC asked VITA to provide a communications system that would enable Indonesian power authorities to oversee the workings of the two remote power stations from Jakarta. This service is provided through VITASAT, a low earth orbiting satellite (LEO) that has been in operation since 1991. It guarantees 24-hour reliability and means big savings on maintenance costs. The system also lets IPC monitor the operations from Rockville, thus helping IPC find new ways to improve the system and lower costs. Each system in Indonesia is continually monitored on site by an IPC- developed controller that can measure 75 different conditions including the state of the storage batteries. The batteries must constantly be protected against overcharging. With the help of VITASAT, technicians in Jakarta can watch over the two generators and make needed adjustments. Technicians in Rockville also monitor the systems through VITASAT. They can offer advice or assistance if requested. Adjustments of any compo nent of the system can be made via satellite. Source: Eric Rosenberg, VITA. A n n o u n c e m e n t s URBAN HEALTH CHALLENGES International Medical Services for Health has just announced that from 21 to 24 June 1994 it will be holding its 5th Annual Millennium Confer ence whose theme will be "Urban Health Challenges for the 21st Century." The conference will focus on the need to create effective models that will comprehensively address urban health issues. Topics to be covered include the needs of city inhabitants, environmental and infrastructure issues (such as water and sanitation, transportation), health-related policies and services, and nutrition and access to food. The conference is designed to promote interaction between all sectors working in, or supporting work in, national and international health programs. Parti cipants are expected to include program planners, managers, and imple menters from nongovernmental organizations, government entities, aca demic and research institutions, and industry, as well as multilateral funding groups and foundations. The conference, which will be held in Washington, D.C., is cosponsored by the Columbia University School of Public Health (New York) and the University of Glasgow (U.K.). Information: Robin Trescott, International Medical Services for Health, 45449 Severn Way, Suite 161, Sterling, Virginia 20166; tel: +1 (703) 444-4477; fax: +1 (703) 444-4471; telex: 910-2500-120. * * * HOW TO JOIN VITA'S ELECTRONIC FORUM VITA's free, public, online discussion forum, DEVEL-L, provides for the exchange of ideas and information on a wide range of issues and topics related to technology transfer in international development; for exam- ple, technologies, communications in development, sustainable agricul- ture, women in development, the environment, small enterprise develop- ment, meetings, and book reviews. Subscribers to DEVEL-L automatically receive this newsletter and can download documents free from a special archive by using FTP requests or e-mail messages. To join the forum, send this command or message that reads: SUB DEVEL-L your_real_name to this address: or . You can receive the same benefits by joining the newsgroup bit.listserv.devel-l. You can subscribe to DevelopNet News without joining the discussion forum by sending the following message to the same address: SUB DNN-L your_real_name . Please do not send these messages to VITA. * * * DevelopNet News is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Volun- teers in Technical Assistance (VITA), a private, nonprofit, interna- tional development organization located in Arlington, Virginia. The newsletter needs your stories: you are invited to send them to the editor in electronic form. Your redistribution of DevelopNet News is encouraged. Kindly send us a message on the approximate size of your mailing list; it will be helpful in our planning. President: Henry R. Norman Acting Editor: Vicki Tsiliopoulos Editorial Assistant: Rafe Ronkin, VITA Volunteer VITA specializes in information dissemination and communications tech- nology. It offers services related to sustainable agriculture, food processing, renewable energy applications, water sanitation and supply, small enterprise development, and information management. It has long- and short-term projects in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. VITA's publications, on a variety of practical subjects, are designed to assist persons and organizations in developing countries. You can request a descriptive publications list by postal mail, phone, or fax. Be sure to include your postal address. Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500, Arlington, Virginia 22209. Tel. +1 (703) 276-1800, 24-hr BBS: +1 (703) 527-1086 [up to 9600, N,8,1], fax: +1 (703) 243-1865, telex: 440192 VITAUI, cable: VITAINC, e-mail: or , FidoNet: 1:109/165 .