In early 1995, only four African countries were directly connected to the Internet; two years later, well over half are. Despite such rapid progress, "African countries are far, far behind countries in Asia and Latin America in using information and information technology for development," Mr. K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), told an October 1996 information technology coordinating meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Within the framework of the UN System-wide Special Initiative on Africa, the ECA and the World Bank are the lead agencies for coordinating action to "harness information technology for development," in collaboration with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the UN Industrial Development Organization. At an estimated cost of $11.5 mn over a five-year period, this portion of the Special Initiative will seek to promote greater computer use and networking, expanded telecommunications infrastructure and the further development of other information technologies in Africa.
"Africa has no choice but to enter the information age if we want our countries to be competitive in the global economy," Mr. Amoako noted. Greater use of computers, for example, "offers solutions to distance education, extension of health and agricultural services, disaster early warning systems, trade and tourism promotion and other benefits." It is also an instrument of social advancement, since "information empowers and information frees people at all levels of society, regardless of their gender, their level of education or their status, to make rational decisions and to improve the quality of their lives."
A guiding framework for the ECA's work in this field is the African Information Society Initiative, first adopted in May 1996 by the ECA Conference of Ministers. It aims to promote awareness among policymakers of the importance of information technologies, connect more African countries to the Internet, democratize access to information and information technology, develop programmes to train African information experts and formulate strategies for resource mobilization. In October a Regional Coordination Committee was established, composed of representatives of relevant UN agencies, bilateral and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector. Subsequently a small Technical Advisory Committee of six African information experts was set up.
At the recommendation of the Regional Coordination Committee, the ITU has started strengthening the regional telecommunications training centers in Nairobi and Dakar, offering advanced training in Internet operations. The ECA's Institute for Economic Planning and Development (IDEP) in Dakar has introduced information technology training to facilitate access to development information by planners and decision-makers.
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), headquartered in Canada, in late 1996 approved funding for an information technology policy awareness campaign, to target senior government officials, international and regional organizations, science and technology research centres, development agencies, NGOs, key media organizations and private businesses.
The IDRC is also considering a project, known as the Acacia Initiative, to expand access to information technologies beyond the relatively wealthy urban areas, to rural and disadvantaged communities.
With a similar goal, the ITU and UNESCO have initiated "telecentre" pilot projects in Tanzania and Uganda, with significant support from Denmark. These seek to develop rural telecommunications networks and multipurpose community centres, in which local governments, the private sector and community organizations share information facilities to reduce costs and make support and training more widely accessible.
As Mr. Amoako stressed, greater use of information technology in Africa should not lead to "the creation of new elites, of new inequities built around information as a resource." Rather, he said, it should ensure equitable access. "All of Africa's people are stakeholders in the Information Society."