New communications technologies can contribute significantly to the work of humanitarian agencies, says a new study. They can help people “build their resilience to crises by improving livelihoods, mitigating risks, and preparing for disasters” and help provide health information through mass media and community mobilisation, it says.

The study is from BBC Media Action, the new name for the BBC’s international development charity formerly known as the World Service Trust. Its policy director, James Deane, told the BMJ that the charity used media and communication “to help people affected by humanitarian emergencies cope …