Poverty Eradication and Financial Crisis- Are ICT4D playing a positive role in addressing these issues?

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Permalink Reply by Alan Foo on June 2, 2009 at 6:15am

ICT4D is a long term goal for poverty eradication - no doubt about it. A child exposed to Education would be better placed in the world economically.

As for the financial crisis, I cannot see how ICT4D can have any effect on the current financial crisis.

Alan
www.paperlesshomework.com

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Permalink Reply by Bidya Nidhi Lamsal on June 2, 2009 at 6:23am

The role of ICT4D for Poverty Eradication and Financial Crisis is remarkable. We could find the real impact in some of the countries specially in India. But still in some of the least developing countries like Nepal; Namibia,Turkey,Rwanda...; we could not see the real impact of ICT4D works. This is because of the lack of research works before the implementation. All the attempts are just like watering in sand. Because of lack of clear vision of funding agencies and the lack of monitoring the outcome is predominating the real output which could be.
So i would like to focus to turning their attention on these issues so that we could aspect a real impact of the investment.

Than you
Bidya

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Orwa Ochieng on June 2, 2009 at 6:27am

ICT4D has a role to play in poverty eradication. However for this to be realized, it is imperative that the digital divide be addressed first before any initiatives. The current digital marginalization of many a rural community in developing countries, due to illiteracy or lack of resources, means that interventions however noble may not reach the targeted populace. Therefore innovations or interventions must take into consideration this important but overlooked fact....leading to even greater poverty ( that of the mind!).
No county can claim to have true and genuine development if the grassroots is ignored!!!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Anusha Raman on June 2, 2009 at 7:14am

ICT4D is main issue of "Poverty eradication and financial crisis".In India the Government has followed National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) .District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) is the implementation agency of the scheme.A sum of Rs. 80 per day would be paid to both men and women for seven hours of manual labour depending upon the quantum of work completed. A total of 5,409 families have completed 100 days of work. If the beneficiary does not turn up in 24 hours of pay day, the weekly wages are credited to their bank account. ‘No-frills zero-balance’ savings bank accounts were opened to 2.36 lakh persons or around 90 per cent of all the beneficiaries in nationalised banks, The major types of work being undertaken include deepening and strengthening of tanks and supply channels, desilting works and formation of mud roads.
Thanks and regards
Anusha Raman

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Permalink Reply by Bipas on June 2, 2009 at 7:34am

thank you Dear

ICT4D has a role to play in poverty eradication.

Bipas
Bangaldesh
bipas2021@yahoo.com

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Permalink Reply by Dibya on June 2, 2009 at 7:40am

Upgradation of ICT knowlede is essential for rural folks to improve their livelihood else they would be continuously exploited by middlemen. Rural folks must be able to establish connectivity to wider horizon of community.

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Permalink Reply by MOHD. JAMIL NOMANI on June 2, 2009 at 7:58am

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE BELOW POVERTY LINE ROUND THE GLOBE. THIS IS BETTER OPTION FOR THAT. ICTD4 IS BEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE THESE PEOPLE. AND IMPROVE LIFE.
GREAT

AS FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IT IS BETTER WAY TO UNDERSTAND
\
MOHD.JAMIL NOMANI
THANKS

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Permalink Reply by Francis Mwathi on June 2, 2009 at 8:31am

It is also important that in this context to examine the historical relationship of the public sector to the ICT sector of the economy. Till the 80s, the telecom sector in most countries – developing and developed - was a public sector monopoly. It was chiefly seen as strategic infrastructure requiring close control. In any case laying landlines across large areas had the elements of a natural monopoly; it was seen wasteful to have multiple players lay such infrastructure in parallel, when the only service to offer – voice telephony – was relatively undifferentiated one, with little to build comparative market advantages on. As IT possibilities exploded along with advent of wireless telecom infrastructure, the nature of game changed fundamentally. The rest is history. It set the context of the current information society revolution along with the new IT sector which was born global and entrepreneurship-led, so much so as to redefine the limits of micro-entrepreneurship. For the public sector, rightly for such early churning times, it was considered best to keep as much distance as possible from these epochal developments with unpredictable if exciting trajectory.
ICT initiatives can advance solutions to many of the above elements of poverty, and to conditions which are compounded by the financial crisis. Their effective implementation would be best achieved by the combined resources and capabilities of all sectors: public, private, civil society, and others. A few of the many potential uses of ICT toward this objective include:
• communicating via the Internet, email, photos, and mobile phone SMS with NGOs and others serving impoverished communities to exchange updates on food and medical needs and the availability / delivery of supplies;
• using database management technologies to track distribution of food, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and disaster relief supplies;
• accessing Internet-based information to increase arable land and crop outputs, improve sanitation, nutrition, health maintenance, and disease prevention, and expand access to safe drinking water and power supplies;
• e-learning of basic educational and life skills for youth and young adults;
• e-learning of high-impact job skills training courses for young adults and re-trainees to enhance their employability and preparation for well paying jobs, both locally and remotely via the Internet;
• providing information about job opportunities and access to public transportation that will enable individuals to reach those worksites;
• enabling individuals, businesses, and NGOs via the Internet and mobile phone SMS to engage in banking, access micro-loans, and utilize other business and financial services;
• accessing real-time information about market prices for agricultural products, manufactured goods, services, and supplies;
• communicating with areas afflicted by natural disasters to assess needs and coordinate emergency response efforts;
• encouraging environmentally sustainable practices while mitigating risks to human health;
• communicating with government officials to notify them of community development needs, participate in governmental planning and decision making, and electronically obtain appropriate permits and licenses;
• sending electronic funds transfers to those serving impoverished communities for whom funds are allocated by foundations, governments, donors and others fo infrastructure projects, housing development, disaster relief, community development projects;
• facilitating citizen empowerment in governmental electoral processes; and
• developing businesses which provide low-cost access to ICTs for local residents so that they may utilize ICTs for all of the above and other purposes.

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Permalink Reply by Kalana S Meneripitiya on June 2, 2009 at 2:46pm

Poverty Eradication and Financial Crisis is
this possible on a rural area which is low facilitated? The Answer is YES, with correct education given in practical methodologies rather than theoratical monotonus education people will be technically developped with ICT Skills.

what next. The acceptancy of challenge.
Providing Programs to motivate the communities & prove to their sub conscious that this is something which they "CAN do"

Continues motivation should be guided by short term & long term targets.

After all social media networks, online commercial social media should be introduced to overcome the poverty & the Financial Crisis.

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Permalink Reply by Masahudu M. Marhey on June 2, 2009 at 3:34pm

Hello Sandra,

It is a wonderfull discussion started by you. All along I was wondering whether the targets set aside for ICT or telecentres to acomplished are really taken cared with or we just make noise and leave the ideas to rust on shelves. It is interesting to note that development is a complex process, and it is very difficult to measure the impact of ICT on poverty alleviation, isolatingits effect from other influenceseven within the setting of project. Nevertheless, it is very vital to have mechanisms in place for monitoring and evaluation that will enable governments or those involve in the project to ascertain over time the effects of ICT interventions on poverty reduction and wealth creation.
The Millennium Development Goals(MDG) set very ambitious target to address structural concerns
that impede economic growth and human development. Ghana's Growth and Poverty Reduction
Strategy(GPRS) represents comprehensive policies, strategies; programmes and projects at macro
and micro levels to support growth and poverty reductions. Within these broad frameworks ICT is
being deployed at telecentres as tools for poverty reduction to:

Improve access and quality of education in the rural areas.
Contribute to women's empowerment through training and provision of small-scale
business information
Provision of of communication to rural areas.
Improve governance and inclusiveness at the local level.

If ICT is channel at the farmers will have a direct effect on poverty alleviation and increase wealth creation.

Thank you.

Marhey

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Permalink Reply by Md. Saiful Islam on June 3, 2009 at 4:08am

Yes............

I appriciate Marheys statement "................it is very vital to have mechanisms in place for monitoring and evaluation that will enable governments or those involve in the project to ascertain over time the effects of ICT interventions on poverty reduction and wealth creation."

Actualy, Sandras point of observation is great. No doubt, Poverty Alleviation, Financial crisis issues could be fought well with ICT4D tools. Question is, how worth is our tools and how are they eqipped with.

Let us know the.........tools........the impact...........and the goal of the service providers. Obviously it is within the perifery of ICT4D that Sandra has addressed.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander G. Flor on June 2, 2009 at 9:18pm

Hi, Sandra. Congratulations for another relevant and timely discussion thread. I've presented a paper on this in the Third Asian Development Forum. It has been available online for quite sometime now. The title is ICT and Poverty: the Indisputable link and I'm sharing it with you for whatever it's worth. Cheers!

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