U.N. says "digital divide still yawns"
By Reuters
June 18, 2002, 10:45 AM PT
news.com.com
The digital divide between rich and poor countries is growing, despite the many efforts to help developing nations break into the global economy via computers, according to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
"The digital divide still yawns as widely as ever, with billions of people still unconnected to a global society which...is more and more wired," Annan said.
"Despite commendable efforts and various initiatives, we are still very far from ensuring that the benefits of information and communications technology are available to all," he said Monday at the start of a two-day session of the U.N. General Assembly devoted to computers and development.
Annan called on the industry to work with governments, civic groups and the United Nations to find better ways to integrate developing nations into globalization, and to be prepared to commit resources to the problem over the long term.
Participants said there was broad consensus that information and communications technologies could play a major role in promoting economic growth and development, and fighting poverty and disease.
But progress has been slow in many parts of the world.
"Some countries have prospered while others have fallen behind," said Yoshio Utsumi, secretary-general of the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union. "If we do not take any action, the gap between the information 'haves' and 'have-nots' will continue to grow."
Utsumi said "information poverty" remained a reality for much of the world. More than 80 countries had fewer than 10 telephone lines for every 100 inhabitants. And in three out of five countries, fewer than one out of 100 people used the Internet, he said.
"Information has become the key to competitive advantage for both business and modern states," he said. "Anyone can work and provide a product to the global market, even from a remote corner of the world, if the means of communication are readily and cheaply available."
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