According to the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency specialized in the field of information and communication technologies, around 2.7 billion people, out of a total population of eight billion, were not connected. to the Internet in 2022.
In a statement, the federation issued a global call to “increase the value of pledges to digitize the world from the current $30 billion to $100 billion by 2026.”
He explained that the gap “separating the least developed countries from the rest of the world is widening in key factors such as access, digital skills and affordability”.
“Technology is at the top of the global agenda, but the benefits of digital technology are still out of reach for far too many people,” ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said in the statement. .
“If we are serious about digitizing the world in a meaningful and sustainable way, we must take action to accelerate digital transformation for all,” she added.
The union pointed out that the world’s 46 least developed countries are home to around a third of the world’s population who are not connected to the internet, explaining that the internet “is only considered affordable in two of these countries”.
In order to fill this gap, the Federation launched in September 2021 the digital alliance “Partner2Connect” and its online pledge platform.
The alliance aims to use public-private partnerships to help boost digitalization in societies that find it most difficult to connect to the internet, including least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and island states. .
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