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This paper examines the adaptation of information policies targeting specific groups to enhance development outcomes. Focusing on the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the study emphasizes its potential to eradicate extreme poverty, improve education, promote gender equality, and facilitate healthcare improvements in developing regions. The findings stress that while ICT can boost economic and social inclusion, its success depends on local context and conditions. Additionally, partnerships and good governance are crucial for sustainable development goals (SDGs) alignment.
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Information Management for Development: Do the policies work? Adapting information policies to target groups Alec Singh ACP Secretariat www.acp.int alec@acp.int EADI-IMWG Conference 2004 9-11 September 2004 Maastricht, NL
United Nations Millennium Declaration - September 2000 • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality and empower women • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases • Ensure environmental sustainability • Develop a global partnership for development
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger IF ICT is appropriately deployed to take into consideration people’s differing needs, it can become a powerful economic, social and political tool for the poor, and for all those who work to eradicate poverty
ICT can help reach this objective by: • stimulating macroeconomic growth; • making markets more efficient; • improving social inclusion; and • Facilitating political involvement. Examples: ACP-EU Joint institution: Centre Techinque d’Agricole (CTA)
2. Achieve universal primary education • The average length of schooling in high-income countries is ten years, • but in developing countries it is approximately less than half (4.6 years)
What can be done to improve the situation? • Increase access to education through Distance Learning • Training teachers as a spearhead group • Broadening the availability of good quality educational material, such as educational videos/DVDs • Use technology such as WorldSpace satellites
3. Promote gender equality and empower women • Increasing economic opportunities for Women • ICT can enhance a woman’s ability to know her rights and participate in decision making • But what about the cultural aspects? • To what extent will these be able to be surmounted? • Personal belief that ICT will have a difficult job in bringing about this change
ICT and Health: 4. Improve maternal health 5. Reduce child mortality 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases But what about cultural and religious aspects?
8. Develop a global partnership for development • Good governance (transparency) • Encourage mutually beneficial partnerships such as that between India and Mauritius • Encourage deregulation of telephone services • Encourage the development of information gateways such as EuForic or the Development Gateway
Conclusions • Promotion of ICT will raise the likelihood of obtaining the MDGs • However, ICT is not a miracle solution and ICT has to be implemented taking into consideration local conditions • Spearhead groups should be encouraged (Encourage the early adopters) • And traditional distribution of information should not be left too far behind
