Addis Herald
  • Home
  • History
  • Africa
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Culture
  • Art

Culture

  • calanderEthiopia: A truly unique African country
  • passionfruit-istanbul-croppedPassionfruit’s Globe-Trotting DJ Mixes Tell Stories Through Disco
  • Ethiopia-HighlandsThe most breathtaking geography in Ethiopia
  • Christmas in Lalibela‘Genna’: Christ’s birthday anniversary, an indispensable part of Ethiopian culture
  • the weekendThe Weeknd’s Next Album Will Be Inspired By BLM Movement, COVID-19 Pandemic

Business

  • cashgo appAbyssinia Bank Launches Mobile Remittance App
  • East Africa HoldingEast Africa Holding & China West International Holding’s joins to build $ 2.2 Billion Cement Factory in Ethiopia
  • siemensEthiopia Signs Deal To Build Phase 1 of $440 Million Assela Wind Farm Project
  • EthiopiaCan agriculture be Ethiopia’s growth engine?
  • Orange-Digital-VenturesGIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in Africa and the Middle East region

Africa

  • Aleksandra-Sova-Cardano-1-1200x600Cardano: The “birds” are late – Hoskinson addresses project in Ethiopia
  • MaskEntrepreneursCAR5 ways women are driving Africa’s transformation and contributing to a global reset
  • jad20210225-culture-nefertiti-akhenaton-592x296-1614265493-e1614766131609Ancient Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti & King Akhenaten finally in a photo
  • 20140208_MAP001_0Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms
  • battle of adwa woriorThe Victory of Adwa: A Fresh Perspective
id
July 15, 2020

Identity for development in post-COVID19 Africa

UNECA

“COVID-19 has enabled us to explore new platforms and ways of identifying people,” said Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) who suggested that digital platforms such as Facebook, Google etc could help “change the way we do censuses, identify, and locate people.”

She made the remarks on 17 June 2020 during a webinar organized by ID4Africa to discuss issues related to ID for development in a COVID and post-COVID Africa. Ms. Songwe noted that access to ICT will be crucial to enable Africa build back.

“The build-back-better contest will be won by countries with better technology and ICT platforms. Africa needs reliable, affordable and accessible ICT to reach the most vulnerable but also to support innovation and new job creation.”

The meeting was also attended by experts from UNDP, the World Bank, UNICEF and the Center for Global Development (CGD) who all agreed that identity for all must be accelerated, especially given that about 70% of Africans operate in the informal sector and mostly without identity.

Vyjayanti Desai, Program Manager for Identification for Development (ID4D) at the World Bank, said “COVID-19 has accelerated the agenda for digital identity, which is far more efficient and accurate in terms of getting money directly to the neediest.”

She said many countries now realize the importance of digital ID “as it helps them move available cash assistance faster,” and that digital ID has the added advantage of inclusion, stating “We see examples in India where within the month of May, there were five million new account holders (women who opened up accounts to received payment).” 

The UNDP expert on legal identity, Niall McCann, said “The importance of everybody being registered in a state ID system is absolutely clear now because you cannot trace contacts, or find out your infection or death rates if you don’t know who is in your country.”

The need for urgent investment in comprehensive ID systems was also highlighted by UNICEF’s Associate Director, Cornelius Williams who said:

“We used to have financial inclusion as the economic argument for a comprehensive national identity system, but now we have the public health argument. We must make sure the investment that is coming to build back governance systems includes investment for comprehensive national identity management system”

Oliver Chinganya who heads the Africa Center for Statistics at the ECA used the opportunity to highlight ECA’s work “with telcos to support countries to effectively respond to COVID-19 through transmission of information to and from citizens at lower costs.”

The webinar was moderated by ID4Africa’s Executive Director, Joseph Atick”

Source UNECA

World population in 2100 could be 2 billion below U.N. projections, study shows Clustering in special economic zones can boost Central Africa’s creative industry

Related Posts

Aleksandra-Sova-Cardano-1-1200x600

Africa, News

Cardano: The “birds” are late – Hoskinson addresses project in Ethiopia

MaskEntrepreneursCAR

Africa, Headlines

5 ways women are driving Africa’s transformation and contributing to a global reset

jad20210225-culture-nefertiti-akhenaton-592x296-1614265493-e1614766131609

Africa, World

Ancient Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti & King Akhenaten finally in a photo

Industrial Parks Development | Ethiopia |

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-vSnVQfBoo

Africa

  • Aleksandra-Sova-Cardano-1-1200x600Cardano: The “birds” are late – Hoskinson addresses project in Ethiopia
  • MaskEntrepreneursCAR5 ways women are driving Africa’s transformation and contributing to a global reset
  • jad20210225-culture-nefertiti-akhenaton-592x296-1614265493-e1614766131609Ancient Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti & King Akhenaten finally in a photo
  • 20140208_MAP001_0Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms
  • battle of adwa woriorThe Victory of Adwa: A Fresh Perspective

Travel

  • Homage to Entoto Park How the Old “Town in the Forest” is turning into a newly flowering tourist hubHomage to Entoto Park How the Old “Town in the Forest” is turning into a newly flowering tourist hub
  • 00ddd3-724x483This Is What It’s Like Trekking the Hottest Place on Earth
  • Screenshot_20200106-034619_GalleryExtreme Ethiopia in pictures
  • Addis-skyline-768x402Enigmatic Ethiopia: Africa’s (still) hidden jewel in the crown?
  • 929-1024x524-488x250Ethiopia’s Tourism sector is on the rise

Culture

  • calanderEthiopia: A truly unique African country
  • passionfruit-istanbul-croppedPassionfruit’s Globe-Trotting DJ Mixes Tell Stories Through Disco
  • Ethiopia-HighlandsThe most breathtaking geography in Ethiopia
  • Christmas in Lalibela‘Genna’: Christ’s birthday anniversary, an indispensable part of Ethiopian culture
  • the weekendThe Weeknd’s Next Album Will Be Inspired By BLM Movement, COVID-19 Pandemic

Business

  • cashgo appAbyssinia Bank Launches Mobile Remittance App
  • East Africa HoldingEast Africa Holding & China West International Holding’s joins to build $ 2.2 Billion Cement Factory in Ethiopia
  • siemensEthiopia Signs Deal To Build Phase 1 of $440 Million Assela Wind Farm Project
  • EthiopiaCan agriculture be Ethiopia’s growth engine?
  • Orange-Digital-VenturesGIZ and Orange launch an Orange Digital Center in Ethiopia, the 3rd in Africa and the Middle East region

RSS Allfrica.com News feed

  • Africa: The Invisible Generation Holding the Key to Africa’s Future Food Security
  • Africa: 'Time to End the Gender Pay Gap in Journalism,' Says IFJ
  • Africa: Two Cosafa Nations Set for Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations
  • Africa: Covid-19 Pandemic Worsening Gender Inequalities for Refugee Women and Girls
  • Africa: Gambia U-20 Eyes Bronze Medal in Africa U-20 Youth Championship
  • Africa: Covid-19 Affects Over 1bn Children's Education Globally
  • Africa: Total Number of Covid-19 Cases Across Continent Nears 4 Million
  • Africa: 'Postpone AFCON Qualifiers'
  • Africa: The World Is Addicted to Coal - It's Time for the Planet to Go Into Rehab
  • Africa: Covid-19 Affects Men and Women Differently. It's Important to Track the Data
  • Abijitta-Shalla National Park
  • Alatish Ethiopian National Park
  • Awash National Park
  • Babille Elephant Sanctuary
  • Bahir Dar Blue Nile Millennium Park
  • Bale National Park; Ethiopia’s lesser-known Treasure
  • Bale Mountains National Park
  • Borena-Sayint National Park
  • Chebera Churchura National Park
  • Dati Wolel National park
  • Gambella National Park
  • Gambella National Park 2
  • Kafta-Sheraro National Park
  • Mago National Park
  • Maze National Park
  • Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia
  • Omo National Park 
  • The Semien Mountains
  • Yabello National Park
  • Yangudi Rassa National Park
© Addis Herald 2021
  • Contact us
en English
af Afrikaansam Amharicar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanel Greekhi Hindiit Italianja Japaneseko Koreanla Latinru Russianes Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedish