Tech and International Development, Can we All Get Along?
Innovation, technology, big data, oh my! To those not accustomed to that kind of tech jargon, these words might seem a bit intimidating, especially in humanitarian work, but not anymore. In the 21st century, we are living in uncertain yet innovative times. Where certain viewpoints seem to move society backwards in many ways, information is helping us move forward. Big data and technology can play a significant role in accelerating development, and it’s already happening.
Now, almost 100% of data is stored digitally that means that the majority of information that was previously analog and hard to disseminate is now available to millions In health, education, science and driven by technology, big data is touching every aspect in our lives, in some way shape or form.
In health, there are many promising projects that are benefiting from big data in areas that need it most. For instance, according to recent studies, there are only around 200 practicing medical doctors in all of Sierra Leone, so out of a population of six million people, meaning most of the country does not have proximity to a physician, they are limited to community health workers (CHWs), who are local citizens who have received basic family health services training. Satellite mapping is helping Sierra Leone provide health workers with better access to life-saving information. In a country with one of the worst maternal mortality statistics in the world, improving access to life-saving information is crucial. “Strong and resilient health systems require up-to-date information on the location and functionality of health assets, including CHWs,” said Dr. Kebir Hassen, UNICEF Health Specialist in Freetown. The information is already informing policy and decision-making; and will help the government, communities and families effectively plan for, manage health and policy issues in the future.
In addressing global migration challenges relating, the lack of official identification has compounding effects that threaten people’s lives, but big data might provide some solutions. Currently, there are around 5 billion people around the world who have no formal identity and this isn’t only a refugee problem. Out of those 5 billion, an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide lack a legal identity. The UN , through one aim of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is to “provide legal identity to all, including birth registration, by 2030.” However, current ID registers are frequently disconnected from one another, making tracking people across borders difficult. A solution may lie in using blockchain technology. On the identity blockchain, individuals could store their information in a sort of online locker, allowing people to access it on a need-to-know basis. This could be an effective tool, but it should also be emphasized that blockchain is not a solution to all our problems. If it is identified by those who recognize its potential and are empathetic enough to teach it to others in way that makes sense to everyone (from the beneficiary to the executive director) then, it could be a very useful tool.
Big Data is helping people come together from all ages and to inspire people to continue prototyping and build on best practices. For example, UNICEF’s Jordan office is collaborating with MIT’s Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region to inspire current and future entrepreneurs to create technologies that improve children’s lives. Youth are driving social change through big data as well. Recently, a 19-year-old London-born Stanford student Joshua Browder’s a chatbot trying to address legal issues, like homelessness. Overall, big data is ripe and ready to be used in numerous ways. In order to shift those ways in the right direction, it is necessary to have help from organizations, especially ones that scale new technologies inside a 12,000 person, 70-year-old organization. In comes UNICEF’s Office of Innovation.
At UNICEF and through the Office of Innovation, or Innovation Unit, we maintain that access to information, particularly basic, life-enhancing information, is a human right. Innovation that builds and strengthens infrastructure to increase access to services and information, including connectivity, power, finance, sensors, and transport holds great promise to address existing challenges that negatively impact children.
The Innovation Unit allows UNICEF to quickly assess, fund and scale open-source solutions that have been developed by companies in new markets, thus creating sustainable solutions to real-world problems. The Innovation Fund brings together models of financing and methodologies and supports open source, public goods that address the biggest problems future generations are facing today.
Recent political changes have created a tumultuous divisive environment, ironically creating different issues with information overload. However, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages in what we can gain from Big data, if organizations, especially UN agencies, are will to adapt. In the end, the only way we can create the biggest return on our social investments, we need to unite, and we need the powers that be embrace the power that is being generated. The baby boomer generation has been in political power longer than any other generation in the past century and if we do not fight to lead with innovation, then we will be doomed to make the same development mistakes over again. We can unite under our desire to make the future better for the ones whose survival depends on it.
