BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin gave opening remarks at ITU's webinar on "Connect2Recover: Identifying Country-Level Connectivity Gaps and Building Resilience to Future Pandemics."
In partnership with the governments of Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ITU's Connect2Recover Initiative aims to reinforce digital infrastructure and digital ecosystems of beneficiary countries, so that they can better leverage ICTs to support pandemic recovery efforts and preparedness for a post-COVID normal.
Ms Bogdan-Martin stated that we have seen the dial on broadband connectivity shift sharply from 'desirable' to 'essential'. She elaborated, ''In the face of lockdowns and quarantine restrictions, ready access to digital infrastructure has become a basic requirement for fully-fledged participation in society, and the economy.'' Such access to connectivity has proven crucial for businesses to continue running, and for individuals to continue working, learning and interacting with one another.
However, she stressed that those who have been able to seamlessly transition daily activities online are a privileged few. ''For communities that are poorly connected, lack affordable access, or have few digital skills, the pandemic continues to catastrophically disrupt every aspect of life, from employment and education to access to healthcare and essential government services,'' she said.
Ms Bogdan-Martin highlighted work done by the Connect2Recover initiative to support countries to ''build back better'', by leveraging the transformative potential of digital technologies.
The initiative is developing a global methodology to identify gaps at the country level that limit the use of broadband networks, narrowband networks (where appropriate), and digital technologies, to respond to and mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. The webinar provided an opportunity for participants to learn about current data collection efforts, as well as potential strategies to increase members' social and economic resilience in the face of future pandemics. Ms Bogdan-Martin encouraged participants to share their views in the lively discussion that followed.
