millennium development goals

A significant development in public service in recent times is the increasing application of ICTs. Governments have embarked on programs and projects that seek to improve the delivery of public services through the adoption of ICT in the public sector. While initially e-government initiatives were aimed at increasing internal processes and operational efficiencies of public agencies, now e-government projects are employed in an attempt to provide an integrated and connected services to stakeholders.

The paper explores the role that ICTs can play in achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. It shows that there are four areas in which ICTs could have a positive impact for the eradication of hunger: production and distribution of food, the ability to acquire food, health and nutrition, and broader policy concerns. The paper concludes that although ICTs have a large potential to contribute to reducing the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, they are far from a panacea for nutritional problems.

This article assesses ICTs’ role in reaching the goals, with an emphasis on urban poverty. Over the lifespan of the MDGs, debate about ICTs and development has grown. On one side are those who see ICTs as enabling rapid growth and citizen empowerment; on the other side are those who warn that “technical fixes” cannot overcome the historic and structural causes of poverty. In this article, using the organizing framework of the eight MDGs, these debates are discussed by reviewing examples of ICT projects that aim to further the goals’ realization.

Upon invitation of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), development practitioners and policy makers met in Chennai, India, from 17-19 November 2004, for a workshop to review experiences in Asia and Africa in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for poverty reduction. The event was organised in coordination with the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), OneWorld South Asia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

This summary document, with a foreword by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, presents the essence of a pioneering attempt to assess the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in human development in Asia. It captures the rich variety of ICT initiatives in nine Asian countries (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam) and draws lessons for identifying policy directions.

This study examines the interdependency between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and human development, and identifies ICT indicators for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

This country report reviews and assesses progress made in India in drafting and implementing its national e-policies and e-strategies towards meeting its national development goals and the Millennium Development Goals.

The report’s unique approach lies in its use of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to measure and monitor the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on human development. The report examines country-specific experiences in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam, and provides cross-country comparisons on the use of ICTs to achieve the MDGs.

This report is an evaluation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust (WST) radio project Afghan Woman's Hour (AWH). Broadcast since January 2005, AWH seeks to empower women by broadcasting programming on gender issues in the two main languages of the region, Dari and Pashto.

This report examines the potential of information and communications technologies (ICTs) for advancing democracy and empowerment, with a special focus on Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Conducted by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in coordination with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the study documents evidence indicating that access to and the strategic use of ICTs help bring about economic development, poverty reduction, and democratization - including freedom of speech, the free flow of information, and the promotion of human rights.