As the famine and the humanitarian disaster unfolded, contingency plans for a big international relief operation were examined. However, before the large quantities of foodstuffs supplied by different countries and aid organizations could be delivered, relief coordinators needed accurate information on the numbers of starving people and where they were located. This need for information, as well as many attendant problems, had to be resolved urgently because vulnerable groups such as young children and the elderly were dying of starvation. Relief operations were hampered by poor or non-existent public telecommunications networks in the region.

An Emergency Response Unit was dispatched to assess the situation on the ground, and to lay down a telecommunications infrastructure to coordinate the subsequent food and shelter distribution. The team arrived at the regional capital in a cargo plane filled with food and crates of pre-packed telecommunications equipment with VHF and HF radios and walkie-talkie handsets. The team leader showed the licence documents for the equipment to a customs official who was inspecting the crates.

"These papers are not valid in our country," the customs official said. "I cannot allow you to bring them in, you have to apply for official radio permits," he added.

"Who will issue the licences?" asked the relief team leader.

"The Ministry of Telecommunications in the capital," came the answer.

Watching the food being loaded on lorries, the team leader puzzled as to how he could spare the time to travel to the capital, all of 600 kilometres away, while at the same time establishing the communications links which were needed before the relief operation could get underway.