"ICT can help prevent problems from turning into disasters that impede sustainable development", said Mbika Mbika, deputy minister of communications at an International Telecommunications Union forum in Lusaka last week.
ICT equipments such as GIS and satellite phones can help African countries mitigate the impact of disasters. They represent powerful tools to identify population at risk and assess the potential impact of hazardous events, as well as to allow communications in the aftermath of a disaster.