The new informatics of pandemic response: humanitarian technology, efficiency, and the subtle retreat of national agency

Abstract

Digital communication technologies play an increasingly prominent role in humanitarian operations and in response to international pandemics specifically. A burgeoning body of scholarship on the topic displays high expectations for such tools to increase the efficiency of pandemic response. This article reviews empirical uses of communications technology in humanitarian and pandemic response, and the 2014 Ebola response in particular, in order to propose a three-part conceptual model for the new informatics of pandemic response. This model distinguishes between the use of digital communication tools for diagnostic, risk communication, and coordination activities and highlights how the influx of novel actors and tendencies towards digital and operational convergence risks focusing humanitarian action and decision-making outside national authorities' spheres of influence in pandemic response. This risk exacerbates a fundamental tension between the humanitarian promise of new technologies and the fundamental norm that international humanitarian response should complement and give primacy to the role of national authorities when possible. The article closes with recommendations for ensuring the inclusion of roles and agency for national authorities in technology-supported communication processes for pandemic response.

The potential for computational IT tools in disaster relief and shelter design

“…A critical review of the literature on humanitarian aid suggests that technology gives humanitarian agencies unparalleled access to war-hit communities (Felter, 2018; Ben Ramalingam, 2016;Jason Susim, 2019;Chaudhri et al, 2019;Arnold et al, 2018;Wilson and Jumbert, 2018;Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, 2011;Gilman, 2014;Lüge, 2014;Comes, 2016;Sandvik et al, 2014). A similar finding was made by the Scientific Foresight Unit and the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) (European Parliamentary Research Service, 2017Service, , 2019.…”

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Usage during COVID-19: Motivating Factors and Implications

“…We also did not consider multi-user interactions or devices, such as the case of video gaming applications. In the context of pandemic response, prior research has highlighted the benefits of using digital communication technologies for diagnostic efforts, risk communication practices, and coordination processes [ 4 ], and future research should examine the level and form of human–ICT interaction in each of the use categories.…”

“…One change affecting many people was in their use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). ICTs are broadly defined as products that can digitally store, retrieve, manipulate, transmit, or receive information, such as personal computers, televisions, telephones, email systems, robotic and smart devices, and other internet-enabled systems, including traditional media and social media [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. For example, with regard to television use, during the week of March 16th of 2020, viewership of the four largest broadcasts networks in the U.S. increased nearly 19% compared to the same week during 2019.…”

Review on the Use of ICT Driven Solutions Towards Managing Global Pandemics

“…Examples include the SARS virus outbreak in Hong Kong in 2003 and the global pandemic H1N1 flu in 2009 [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Advances in global air travel, agricultural technology, urbanization, and mega-scale emissions make it possible for infectious diseases to emerge and spread [19][20][21][22][23].…”