Ericsson launches disaster
relief programme
Stockholm,
13 April 2000 - Swedish
communications giant, Ericsson has launched a humanitarian offensive to donate
expertise and hardware to assist victims of disaster.
The Ericsson Response campaign
was launched in Stockholm this week with the aim of providing on-the-ground
assistance to the world's leading disaster relief agencies,
A collobarative effort with
the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the campaign will not
only provide free mobile phones to relief workers but also send Ericsson technicians
to disaster zones to establish mobile communication networks.
Senior Vice President of
Corporate Affairs, Lars Stalberg said the Ericsson initiative was the result
of an in-house study of the company's social responsibility activities.
"We looked at the activities
we were involved in around the world to determine where we were the most effective,"
he said. "A common theme emerged. Ericsson was most effective helping to
relieve the suffering of disaster victims."
The Ericsson initiative
is particularly timely. It followed last year's Disasters Report (compiled by
the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Socieities), which found that the
number of disasters worldwide - both man-made and natural - had tripled since
the 1960s.
Having provided assistance
to relief workers following last year's Venezualan and Taiwanese earthquakes,
Ericsson wanted to formalise their relationship with the humanitarian agencies.
"We found that our
expertise and technical assistance was continually being called upon in these
disaster situations," said Stalberg. "We simply decided to make a
formal commitment.
"Through dialogue with disaster relief organizations we learned a faster,
more co-ordinated effort is needed to limit human suffering in disaster situations.
"We have the hardware,
we have the expertise and now we have the program in place to make disaster
response a more streamlined and effective operation."
The new programme will establish
a network of disaster response teams in Ericsson offices throughout the world.
Their job will be to liaise directly with relief agency workers to help improve
the quality, speed and effectiveness of disaster response.
And while Ericsson are happy
to accept plaudits for the new programme, it is a mutually beneficial relationship,
not without benefits for the company itself. "One of the main driving forces
behind this kind of program is to provide our employees with something to be
justly proud of," said Mr Stalberg.
"From the feedback
we have had already - both from our customers and
our own staff - we are confident this programme will justify the large investment
it requires."
Mr Stalberg said that since
the campaign was launched two days ago, Ericsson had been contacted by "numerous
like-minded companies" wanting to get involved or share expertise.
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