"This Information Ecosystem Assessment builds on the previous study conducted by Internews and the Emergency Telecoms Sector in late 2017. It targets both refugee and host communities, through an extensive quantitative survey and select Focus Group Discussions. The standout change between the two As
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sessments is the dramatic increase in the number of refugees who say they now have enough information to make decisions about their daily lives: the percentage jumped from 23% in 2017 to 92% in the recent study. This is evidence that the efforts to provide information, by Internews, BBC Media Action, Translators Without Borders, and a range of humanitarian organisations, has had real impact in meeting information needs. Upon close examination, however, the increase is not a straightforward win. Large numbers of refugees still report confusion over how to access several services and meet basic needs, with 40% saying they were unsure how to obtain more or better food. Similarly large percentages needed information about financial support, water supplies aid registration general information about events around the camps, what was happening in Myanmar / Rakhine, and long-term options for their and their children’s futures. As discussed in the report, it is possible that refugees don’t identify the lack of answers to these questions as an ‘information gap’ that affects their ability to make decisions, but rather a simple lack of options that better information can’t resolve." (Executive summary)
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"There is no accessible media in the Rohingya language, leaving the Rohingya population of well over a million, now spread between Myanmar and Bangladesh, reliant on information only available in languages other than their own [...] This assessment, conducted in the Cox’s Bazar region of Banglades
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h in late October 2017, examines the information ecosystem facing the area’s crisis affected population (introduction). According to the executive summary (page 10), "mobile phones were one of the main sources to send and receive information prior to arrival in the camps, which indicates a high household’s ownership of mobile phone sets (64%). Within newly arrived families, smart phones are mainly used by adult men between age 15 to 24; many of them have taken an active role to mingle with others, access to Facebook and YouTube, and bring information back to the households. Some of the young boys with smart phones have said to spend major amount of credit on data rather than voice connectivity. Also, young men find places to gather, such as shops, where they can charge phones and share information with others of the same age. The lack of access to information and communication channels should perhaps not be surprising, given the enormous challenges presented by the information landscape. 71% of the affected population has had no formal education of any kind, and 77% of the refugee population is illiterate in any language. The Rohingya dialect, the main language spoken by 96% of the refugee population, has no agreed written script. It is technically illegal for refugees to purchase SIM cards. Access to radio sets is limited, and the signal is weak in many areas. What mass media that is available, is in Bangla or Chittigonian. 81% of refugees do not currently listen to the radio."
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