FORUM POUR LE D

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Third United Nations Conference on the Least
Developed Countries (LDC III) Brussels, 15-20 May
2001
Africa Puts Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) on top of its Development
Agenda
By Makane FayeTeam Leader, Promoting ICTs for
DevelopmentDevelopment Information Services
Division (DISD)Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA)
ECA
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AFRICAS KEY DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES

• Overcome the HIV/AIDS Pandemic
• Provide basic health services
• Invest in people Increase resources for
  education
• Enhance research capacities
• Improve key infrastructure
• Strengthen regional cooperation

ECA
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AFRICAN INFORMATION SOCIETY INITIATIVE (AISI)

• AISI a Common vision and mission statement
  for Africas quest to bridge the digital
  divide (since 1996) updated at ADF 99
• AISI Adopted and endorsed by
• the twenty-second meeting of ECA Conference
  of Ministers in May 1996
• OAU Summit in Cameroon, July 1996
• the African Regional Telecommunication
  Development Conference, organised by the ITU
  and held in Abidjan in May 1996

ECA
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COMMON POSITION FOR AFRICAS DIGITAL INCLUSION

• Meeting on Africas Contribution to global ICT
  initiatives such as the G8 DOT Force, UN
  ICT Task Force, etc. (10 - 12 May 2001,
  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
• Reviewed existing and new ICT initiatives in
  Africa
• Resulted in a COMMON POSITION for Africas
  digital inclusion which focuses on creating the
  enabling policy and regulatory environment and
  putting in place priority sectoral programmes on
  health, education, commerce governance

ECA
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COMMON POSITION FOR AFRICAS DIGITAL INCLUSION
Building Capacity Schools, Varsity, OoSy
(CISCO femme) Journalists, Parliament,
Ambassadors WTO negoc, Harnessing Diaspora
ICT Policies, Strategies and Regulation NICIs
(15), SCAN (6), Regulators
COMMON POSITION
Improving Connectivity and Access Backbones,
MPTCs, IK, RD
Sectoral Implementation Pan African
E-commerce, E-government, Health delivery,
Telemedicine, HIV, Education Networking
Partnership PICTA, GKP, Bilaterals UN ICT, G8
dot force UNDP, World Bank, etc. World Economic
Forum
ECA
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THE WAY FORWARD

• The meeting of African Finance Planning
  Ministers, held in Algiers on 10 May 2001 and
• Africas common position for partnership in ICT
  adopted on 12 May in Addis Ababa by a group of
  African ICT experts
• call upon international partners, particularly
  the G8, the World Bank, UNDP and the World
  Economic Forum to launch a special initiative to
  support harnessing ICT for Africas development
  at the national regional levels so as to ensure
  Africas digital inclusion

ECA
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Merci de votre attention ! mfaye_at_uneca.org www.une
ca.org