NetHope

When a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis occurs, the consequences are usually so great that no one organization can respond alone. Effective relief efforts require strong collaboration, and NetHope helps member organizations use technology to better serve people in the most remote areas of the world.

NetHope demonstrated the positive impact that strong collaboration combined with Internet technology can have on recovery efforts in January 2010, when a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti.

Cisco has supported NetHope since its inception in 2001 with equipment, employee time, and expertise.

Within a week of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Cisco engineers began providing support for a high-speed wireless Internet and telephone network that NetHope and another Cisco nonprofit partner organization, Inveneo, established to coordinate relief in the stricken country. The effort restored broadband access for 15 NetHope members in Port-au-Prince and speeding the delivery of food, water, shelter, and medical assistance.

After the 2004 South Asian tsunami, NetHope partners used NetReliefKits--suitcase-sized voice and data communication systems designed with Cisco technology--to assist ravaged communities within 48 hours of the disaster.

NetHope and its members also focus on humanitarian development and conservation. For example, they have collaborated to install satellite communication equipment for HIV/AIDS workers carrying out public health education programs in Uganda and to coordinate operations of NetHope members' field and regional offices.

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