When a large scale crisis, like the Ebola outbreak, occurs, the need for different organizations to collaborate becomes extremely important. The scale of the effort is such that only through collaborative efforts that enable economies of scale we can achieve the impact needed.

No one nation, no one organization can achieve the impact required to curb a large scale outbreak like this one. Nations must work side by side with each other, regardless of their previous grievances. Same applies to organizations that normally avoid working together. Just like American doctors must be willing to work next to their Cuban counterparts, NGOs must be willing to work next to their military counterparts.

Now is not the time to fight over who puts a flag in the ground where. Now is not the time to compete over funding or visibility in the press. Now is the time to work together as one community. We have one common enemy called Ebola and only through a joint collaborative effort can we stop it.

We at NetHope are joining forces with our UN colleagues from WFP and UNMEER. We are working with our private sector partners and we are already in discussions with our colleagues from the military. In all our discussions we stress the importance of joining forces and I am happy to say that like in the past, we are all on the same wavelength when it comes to collaboration.

Each of us must contribute towards this battle, whether it is by providing funding, expertise, technology or man-power. Through our collective impact, we can achieve things way beyond the combined effort of each partner individually.

We are launching the largest emergency telecommunication response in history. We need all the support we can get – but most importantly, we need to all work together as one. It is our hope that all the other parts of the response community are following the same model and working together as one.

We are breaking down the barriers between our organizations. We are opening up our information channels. We are sharing our resources. We are making joint decisions. We are creating joint plans. We are forming joint strike teams. We are united in this fight.

If you want to support our efforts or join us in this fight, then please reach out to me directly.

Published October 19th 2014 at LinkedIn