The Role of ICT in Poverty

Reduction: “Necessary but

Insufficient”

Presented By
Ms. Aye Aye Aung
 ICT and Poverty Reduction
• To be the panacea for poverty reduction

• If ICT supported with the right policies and

with cross-cutting and holistic approaches, it
can complement and strengthen other
multisectoral efforts
 Best Practices In ICT
• Targeting the poor with
- expandability/replicability,
- sustainability,
- multi-sector partnerships,
- community -engagement,
- gender sensitivity,
- cultural/social sensitivity,
- Innovative combination of ICTs,
- human capacity building.
 ICT’s Role in Various Poverty Sectors

• ICT in Employment and Income Generation

- Some direct employment for the poor,
although their educational and skill levels are
usually too low
- Enhance the activities of the poor and
increasing their productivity
- Increase access to market information or
lower transaction costs of poor farmers and
traders
 ICT’s Role in Various Poverty Sectors
• ICT in Education and Health Programs
- Promote education of the poor
- Facilitate improved the skills of the poor and
the employability of the youth
- Health – good health is basic to a productive
and happy life
- Create zones where preventable diseases
 ICT’s Role in Various Poverty Sectors
• ICT in weather and disaster management
- Support short, medium and long-range
weather forecast into location and farming
system specification plans
- A major role in relation to the natural
disasters
 ICT’s Role in Various Poverty Sectors
• ICT in Governance
- Quality of governance is critical to poverty
reduction
- Need good governance facilitates pro-poor
policies and sound macroeconomic management
- Ensures the transparent use of public funds,
encourages growth of the private sector,
promotes effective delivery of public services,
and helps to establish the rule of law
- Top-down provision of information is not
sufficient, without an opportunity for feed-back
 ICT’s Role in Various Poverty Sectors
• Broad based Poverty Reduction Program with
Holistic ICT Approach
– Turn the vicious cycle of poverty into a virtuous
cycle of well-being
– Economic growth needs to be broad-based and
pro-poor growth with investments
– All need to work together to create conditions
 ICT Strategy in Poverty Reduction

• Strong linkages need to be established between

direct ICT interventions and national-level
programs
• Require an enabling regulatory and policy
environment including coherent national plans
• A wider policy reform is required like a pro-poor
ICT policy together with reforms in investment
policy, education and special support to ICT
provision in rural areas
• Necessary to develop financing frameworks that
attract private investment
 Challenges
• Social and political change is needed
• Most ICTs have an urban bias due to the
connectedness requirement
• ICTs are attractive tools but no development
shortcuts
• Well understood and taken into consideration
when designing programmes for poverty
reduction with ICT
 Recommendations

• Empowering people
• Breaking the inter-generational transmission of
poverty
• Building capacities and developing skills
• Need for sustained investment
• Focus on the Young
• Provide ongoing development and support
• Be sensitive to diversity
• Plan and design for meaningful appropriation
• Take risks, take time, be flexible
 Conclusion
• Information and communication technologies
can be used for poverty reduction, but we
need to be cautious
• It is much more than mere use of technology
• It is more a question of working with people
 Case Study for the role of ICT in
Poverty Reduction
Sector Case Study Focus Country Key Technology

Economics Portfolio India Palmtop Computers

Manager

Agriculture TaniNet Malaysia Internet

China Central Radio
Education and Television China Radio, television
University and Internet
Computer
Internet Learning Lao PDR laboratories

Disability E-pek@k Malaysia Internet

 Case Study for the role of ICT in
Poverty Reduction
Sector Case Study Focus Country Key Technology

Gender Equality Gender Evaluation Global, including All ICTs.

Methodology Asia region

HIV/AIDS Digital Broadcast Nepal, Afghanistan, Radio (digital audio

Initiative India, SE Asia via satellite).
The Electronic
Helpline on India Telephone
HIV/ADIS
Governance Kothmale Sri Lanka FM radio and
Community Radio Internet
Drishtee and the India Internet,
Gyandoot Project Information Koisks