Building Connectivity in Africa-efforts of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

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Building Connectivity in Africa-efforts of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

• Association for Population/Family Planning
  Libraries and Information Centers-International
  (APLIC-I) Conference, Washington D.C.

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Growth of connectivity in Africa

• Period of NGO-led Fidonet connectivity
  (1987-1993)
• CABECA helped set up first nodes in 24 countries
• 5 countries connected to Internet (1995)
• Bi-lateral and multi-lateral projects (95-00)
• USAID Leland Initiative
• UNDP African Internet Initiative, Sustainable
  Development Network Program
• UNESCO RINAF
• World Bank InfoDev

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Current connectivity impetus

• Private sector led, 1998-presentAfrica Online
  major international ISP

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African information and communication needs

• One minute calls from African capitals to Europe
  or the U.S.- 3-7/minute
• Post letters from Niger to Ethiopia can take 8
  years
• Libraries few or no public libraries accessible
  to students in many African countries where
  there are, paucity of books and journals
• In sub-Saharan African, one fixed line telephone
  for every 635 people
• One computer for every 500 people

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What is AISI?

• African Information Society Initiative an action
  Framework to Build Africas Information and
  Communication Infrastructure
• Adopted by ECA Conference of Ministers of
  Economic Planning and Development in 1996
• Implemented by United Nations Economic Commission
  for Africa (Addis Ababa)

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Why was AISI needed?

• African delay in entering information age
• Mbeki (Brussels, 1996)- more telephone lines in
  Manhattan than all of sub-Saharan Africa
• Need for an African direction to AII
• Need to wake up African policy makers

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Working with African countries on . . .

• Developing national plans for building
  information and communication infrastructure
• Eliminating legal and regulatory barriers to the
  use of information and communication technologies
• Establishing an enabling environment to foster
  the free flow and development of information and
  communication in society
• Developing policies and implementing plans for
  using information and communication technologies
  in the public sector

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• Identifying information and communication
  applications in areas of highest impact on
  socio-economic development
• Facilitating the establishment of locally based,
  low-cost and widely accessible Internet services
  and information content
• Preparing plans to develop human resources in
  information and communication technologies
• Adopting policies and strategies to increase
  access to information and communication
  facilities with priorities for rural areas,
  grassroots society, women and youth
• Raising awareness of the potential benefits of
  information and communication infrastructure.

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Concentration on

• Policy and enabling environment- National
  Information and Communication Infrastructure
  plans and policies (NICIs)
• Infrastructure (connectivity)
• Content development
• Democratizing access

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AISI accomplishments

• Sensitization
• Development of national strategies
  www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi/nici/index.htm
• Promoting connectivity
• Promoting partnership
• Stimulating content development
  www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi/adf99docs/docs.htm

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On the ground, 2001

• dramatic infrastructure improvements
• 53 countries connected (2001)
• 450 ISPs

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Current situation

• Internet local call system in 15 countries
• 20,000 hosts connected to Internet
• opening of Nigerian and Eritrean markets
• content growing, particularly in diaspora niches,
  francophone areas
• www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi/adf99docs/infrastru
  cture.htm
• trend to telecommunications liberalization

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but . . .

• most connections in capital cities
• long distance calls from secondary cities
• 0.06 connected in sub-Saharan Africa
• only 11 countries with more than 5000 users
• low total bandwidth (55Mbps)
• high costs (50/mo. for 5 hours)

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Demographics of African Internet usage

• Highly educated, predominantly male users in
  capital city
• Communication between Africa and developed world
• Great emphasis on public access
• Major institutional users NGOs, private
  companies, universities, international
  organizations

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Conclusion

• How to give voices to more?
• need for work with African institutions to
  encourage Web content development through
  information management and dissemination
• Continuing need for push on policy front and
  creation of enabling environments
• To release national and diaspora entrepreneurial
  energy

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Contacts for further information

• faye_at_un.orgnhafkin_at_uneca.orgnhafkin_at_hotmail.com
  
• http//www.bellanet.org/partners/aisi