Africa should close inequality gap to realize COVID-19 recovery

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | Africa should close the inequality gaps if the continent is set to realize recovery targets aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said on Thursday.

“If we do not find ways of closing the inequality gaps on our continent, we will end up with an even more unequal society which is unstable and may lead to political and civil unrest undermining the COVID-19 recovery,” said the executive secretary.

Songwe made the remarks during the launching of the Africa Data Leadership Initiative (ADLI), which was jointly launched by the UNECA with Future State and Smart Africa, towards creating safe space for policymakers, digital rights experts and entrepreneurs to learn together.

“To catch up to the rest of the world and leave no one behind, we must invest quickly, faster and at scale in infrastructure, in particular in digital technology,” she said, adding the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and digital transformation are “everybody’s business” towards poverty alleviation in Africa.

Songwe said Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and digital transformation is everybody’s business and value creation that exists in the ICT sector was crucial for wealth creation and a more prosperous Africa.

“The ICT ministers may be the custodian, but we need all stakeholders — health, education, the private sector and civil society to generate value,” added the ECA Chief.

The Africa Data Leadership Initiative (ADLI) is a peer network designed for and by African policymakers, consumer rights advocates, and private sector stakeholders to ensure the data economy drives equitable growth and social progress across the continent.

The tripartite partnership is creating a peer learning and exchange network in pursuit of three interrelated and interdependent goals that include creating a dynamic “safe space” in which African policymakers, digital rights experts, and entrepreneurs can learn together and from each other, collaboratively problem solve, and share experiences.

It also envisaged building a strong base of expertise across the continent to safely unlock the value of data for prosperity and social advancement, as well as contributing to broader initiatives like the African Union-led framework for an African Data Governance Agenda to build a comprehensive data policy for the continent, it was noted.

Leveraging Smart Africa’s and ECA’s existing platforms, the organizations will promote the peer network among their constituents and solicit input to the data governance issues interrogated through the peer network.

The African Union (AU) Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Amani Abou-Zeid, also said since 2015 the AU Commission and the ECA had co-hosted high-level meetings on data which showed how accurate and timely data can help address the continent’s socio-economic challenges.

“Our eyes are very much on how we recover better and smarter in the aftermath of COVID-19 and technology will definitely help us do that,” she said, adding that safety and security were crucial going forward to ensure Africa’s data is not abused.

Lacina Kone, Director General and CEO of Smart Africa, on his part said in emerging African economies, data protection was crucial and should start with the building of secure infrastructure.

He said access to trustworthy and accurate data was vital for Africa’s development.

“In order to increase the use and value derived from data, capacities to make smart use of available data must be enhanced on the African continent both in the public and private sectors. Infrastructure for this data circulation must be developed,” said Kone.

SMART Africa is an innovative commitment from African heads of state and government to accelerate sustainable socioeconomic development on the continent, ushering Africa into a knowledge economy through affordable access to broadband and usage of Information and Communications Technologies.

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Xinhua