The International Telecommunication Union
(ITU), UNHCR, and GSMA have partnered to launch a transformative agenda to connect
refugees around the world.
The trio, together will seek to
ensure that all major refugee hosting areas have available and affordable
connectivity by 2030, advancing the digital inclusion of over 20 million
forcibly displaced people and local host communities.
Wrapping up a joint visit
to Ethiopia this week, ITU's Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, and
UNHCR's Deputy High Commissioner Kelly T. Clements witnessed how digital
connectivity is providing a lifeline and solutions for refugees and displaced
people, helping them access mobile money, online health services, connected
education and as an avenue to employment in the digital economy.
They issued an urgent
global call to action to increase investment and establish an enabling
regulatory framework for providing connectivity to forcibly displaced and
stateless people and the communities that host them.
A joint letter signed in
2021 between the two agencies outlined a shared vision of a connected society
that leaves no one behind, in line with the Sustainable Development
Goals.
“Today in Ethiopia we've heard first-hand from refugee
communities how much digital technology means to them, as crucial to their
self-reliance and a way to connect to key services as well as loved ones,"
said UNHCR's Clements. “Many challenges remain. We must find affordable
ways to connect the many forcibly displaced people who are still out of reach."
“In Ethiopia, we've witnessed the ingenuity of refugee
communities in finding whatever path they can to stay connected with
society," said
ITU's Bogdan-Martin, following a visit to a cybercafé in Bokolmayo, in
Melkadida refugee camp. “These
communities are asking all stakeholders to do their bit to expand access to
meaningful connectivity so that they can enjoy a safe, satisfying, enriching
and productive online experience at an affordable cost. ITU's Partner2Connect Digital
Coalition and the Global Refugee Forum can
serve as important entry points for interested organizations and investors
to pursue connectivity for all, including displaced people and their
hosting communities."
UNHCR
and ITU, together with GSMA – the trade association for mobile operators – have
developed an ambitious pledge
around Refugee Connectivity that seeks to mobilize investments
and further policy commitments to include refugees into national frameworks and
objectives around digital access for all through universal connectivity. This
includes fostering an enabling policy and regulatory environment for both
expansion of infrastructure and lifting regulatory barriers to individual
access for displaced people.
The three organizations
will lay the foundation for advancing meaningful connectivity as both a
community need and a cornerstone of digital transformation in the humanitarian
sector. Driven by data, promising practices, and through piloting new business
models, our work will devise pathways for new sustainable solutions to get
displaced communities online.
To achieve this, they are
seeking at least USD 20 million in core support, with at least USD 200 million
in direct investment and contributions to advance the refugee connectivity
agenda. Further detailed planning is underway in these areas, including in
Ethiopia.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
