Humanitarian

The Somali Cash Consortium, funded by the European Union, has launched a cash transfer programme estimated at USD$ 7.67 million to assist more than 115,000 vulnerable Somalis.

A study by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy finds that poor access to the internet and technology hinders the quality of humanitarian learning.

Migration

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Vodafone Foundation have extended their Instant Network Schools (INS) programme in Mozambique to more than 34,000 refugee students.

Development

Telecommunications operator Orange and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH have established a new Orange Digital Centre in Bamako to promote innovation and development of digital skills.

A Deloitte report titled ‘The future of work is now: Is APEC ready?’ has concluded that Pakistan is most at risk of automation in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily due to weak research and development (R&D) investments on the transition to the digital era, high poverty rate, and low education. Bangladesh comes in second place. Amongst the reasons why it is at risk of automation, Deloitte mentions low internet usage and poor digital literacy levels. Indonesia ranks third among the APEC countries. Like Pakistan, it also faces low R&D spendings, low education level, and absence of necessary skills among its population to cope with labour market displacement brought about by automation. Important employment rates in agriculture, manufacturing, and construction industries, all of which are at risk of automation, are part of the explanation for why India holds 5th place. Singapore is the least exposed to the risk of automation in the region, while Australia is most prepared for the changes caused by digital transformation.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Facebook announce cooperation on online child safety as part of UNICEF’s efforts to combat violence against children.

The GSMA and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) tackle e-commerce policy priorities in Central Africa in their latest report.

Ericsson report forecasts 5G subscriptions to reach 7% of Sub-Saharan Africa population by 2026.

The mapping conducted by GSA finds that as of June 2021, 5G has been launched in 58 countries worldwide, with North America and Europe taking the lead in terms of regional deployment. The technology has been partially deployed in a number of other countries, such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Chile, and Ecuador. Studies show that by the end of 2021, there will be some half a billion users of 5G networks.
South Korea was the first country to roll out 5G in 2019, ahead of the USA and China. In Africa, 5G is available in South Africa, and partially in Libya and Kenya. Investments in 5G are being made in over 30 different countries including Morocco, Mongolia, and the Western Balkans.

Gender equality

The UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has released a practical guide on how to empower women in the digital economy and reduce the digital financial gender divide.

The Mobile Gender Gap Report 2021 finds that some 112 million women in low- and middle-income countries started using mobile internet in 2020.

In its latest report, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) tackles the barriers and opportunities for Jordanian and Lebanese women for engaging in the digital economy.

Environment

The World Health Organization (WHO) tackles the impact of e-waste on child health in a report titled ‘Children and digital dumpsites’.

Despite high levels of energy consumption, UN experts stated that cryptocurrencies can contribute to sustainable development and greening of the economy.

Whereas much debate has been lately dedicated to the pollution generated by the mining of cryptocurrencies, a survey conducted by Statista found that bitcoin was the most commonly used cryptocurrency in Nigeria in 2020. More precisely, 32% of the surveyed respondents in the largest African economy said they use or own cryptocurrency. One of the reasons why cryptocurrencies are so popular amongst Nigerians is the high costs of traditional money transfers. Vietnam and the Philippines come in second (21%) and third (20%) places respectively. Like in Nigeria, the high fees associated with cross-border payments explain the frequent use of cryptocurrencies amongst the two Southeast Asian countries. Turkey and Peru with 16% each hold the fourth place, whereas Switzerland ranks 5th (11%) in terms of usage and ownership of cryptocurrencies and as such is the highest-ranked country in Europe. According to the survey, the lowest usage and ownership rate (4%) is in Japan.

Food security

The Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, together with the country’s provider of digital payments infrastructure ‘e-Finance’, have launched the ‘Agri Egypt’ digital agricultural network.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the African Union Commission (AUC) have completed the first-ever digital mapping of land use in Africa.

Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have launched the Digital Transformation Initiative for the Agri-Food Sector that will provide digital tools and training to small-scale farmers and businesses across Africa.

E-governance

Nigeria’s federal government has concluded an agreement with the Republic of Korea estimated at US$ 13 million on the digitalisation of public and other government services.

Senegal announces intention to move all government data and digital platforms to a Chinese sponsored national data centre.

Digital health

WHO donates more than US$ 90,000 of its worth in IT equipment to the Eritrea Ministry of Health.

WHO will help North Macedonia digitalise early warning systems to detect, report, and manage public health events.

Water management

The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has held a hearing to examine potential cybersecurity threats related to the US water infrastructure.

Iranian mobile internet users experienced connection disruptions amid water shortage protests.