A United Nations conference under way in Doha, Qatar, has turned its attention to one of the world’s most problematic global challenges: closing the staggeringly wide digital divide between rich and poor nations, with fresh attention coming from a new UN report saying that two-thirds of the population of the least developed countries (LDCs) is still offline.
On March 6, 2023 at the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), a series of roundtable discussions saw global leaders confront two of the most fundamental hurdles facing LDCs: how to make better use of science, technology and innovation (STI), and how to promote structural transformations that can help overcome the real impediments faced by those on the margins of society.
STI plays a critical role in LDCs’ efforts to drive poverty eradication, transition to sustainable development and become globally competitive. However, these vulnerable countries are often unable to reap the full economic and social benefits of technological development due to structural constraints, as there are significant disparities between LDCs and other countries.
The reality for millions of people living in LDCs – and the impact of built-in inequalities – is stark: The internet is of no benefit if you cannot get online; and it does not matter if you can get online if you do not know how to use a browser. The key, according to many speakers today, is finding ways to not just connect those left behind but to sustainably address the divide and foster conditions for more inclusive digital access. According to the research set out in ITU’s Facts and Figures on the Least Developed Countries, an estimated 407 million people in LDCs were using the Internet in 2022. The 720 million people still offline in LDCs represent 27 percent of the global offline population, even though the LDC population accounts for only 14 percent of world population. The ITU study also found that the challenge of bringing communities online has become more complex over the past decade than simply building physical connections. And even among those who could access the internet, many did not because of barriers ranging from awareness to skills to cost.
A point of light amid such challenges is the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA) – the blueprint for renewed commitment and engagement between the LDCs and their development partners, including the private sector, civil society, and governments at all levels. It urges those partners to provide additional and substantial support to LDCs “to ensure affordable and reliable access to broadband and mobile networks and Wi-Fi, including in the last mile”.
New partnerships for LDCs will also be announced at the Forum by the international business community, government officials and UN representatives. LDC5, being held under the theme, ‘From Potential to Prosperity’, is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to accelerate sustainable development in the places where international assistance is needed the most – and to tap the full potential of the 46 least developed countries. The action in Doha continues on March 7, 2023, when the conference will turn its focus to LDC participation in global trade, as well as matters related to youth development and education
Source: IBP