Investment in Infrastructure, Innovation and Industry Will Help Us to Build Back and Recover Better from COVID-19

In 2015, World Leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  The 17 SDGs call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while maintaining peace, protecting the planet, the people and building partnerships. With only ten years remaining to achieve these goals, countries are accelerating steps towards ending poverty, fighting inequalities, tackling climate change, and ensuring that no one is left behind.  Every month, the United Nations spotlights one of the 17 SDGs, highlighting its purpose, targets, and criticality in advancing Agenda 2030. This month’s focus is SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Investment.

Knowledge and information have  brought significant transformative change to our existence and are key drivers behind the implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Across the globe, knowledge and information guide what people do and how they do it.

Similarly, worldwide, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response. The crisis has accelerated the digitalization of many businesses and services, including teleworking and video conferencing systems in and out of the workplace, as well as access to healthcare, education and essential goods and services.

SDG 9 calls on Member States to “build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.”

Yet, in many places, people and communities cannot access neither computers nor the internet.

In recent decades, the internet has exploded in popularity, rapidly becoming a tool for work, education and leisure. As recently as 2015, half of the world's adults reported having access to the internet in some way, including those connecting through a mobile device. This number has risen in recent years, with 56% of adults globally reporting the ability to get online in 2019, an increase of six percentage points over the past two years.

While more people can get online today, access to the internet still largely depends on where they live. Residents in northern America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe have universal internet access. At the same time, only about one in five living in developing countries, especially in Asia and Africa, can gain access to the internet.

However, despite low rates of connectivity in some regions, many have seen  substantial growth in the number of people gaining access to the internet in recent years. The percentage of people connected in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, has grown from 25 percent in 2017 to 31 percent in 2019. Today, it is estimated to be more than 35 percent.

For many, particularly those in developing regions, the spread of "smart" mobile devices has brought access to the internet to many. While the  internet has already changed the world, major changes lie ahead and internet history has just begun, as clearly illustrated by the current coronavirus pandemic.

Digital technology has become a critical tool and enabler during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the engine behind vaccine research; it  drives e-commerce and  enables  hundreds of millions of people to work and study from home. It is also the instrumental agent through which most people receive life-saving information about the pandemic.

In China where 70% of adults reported having access to the internet in 2019, Ali Health, a global medical supplier, set up an online clinic for residents in the locked-down Hubei, which reported receiving 100,000 patients in five days through remote consultations. As global residents continue to shelter in their homes, virtual medicine visits have the potential to provide aid to those unable or unwilling to obtain healthcare in person.

However, the pandemic has also revealed a digital divide and deep inequalities that are reinforcing social and economic disadvantages for women and girls, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Many office workers who can work from home are doing so. Many countries are seeing a surge in employees working from home as companies worldwide introduce teleworking as a new mode of working. For many home workers, access to the internet plays a crucial role in staying connected. However, the ability to work from home largely depends on the type of work performed, as well as the capacity to get online at workable internet speeds.

Education is another online area of growing importance, particularly in households with children who have been forced to remain at home as schools closed worldwide. However, the ability to have children take classes online is only a viable option for those with access to the internet.

Central to innovation and access to digital platforms in Eswatini is the need for all Emaswati to have access to affordable Internet services. The Government of Eswatini has taken several steps to ensure that the country is covered with 4G signal coverage and affordable data packages. However, Internet costs remain high in many areas of the country as structural reform takes place.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has altered educational systems, the UNDP Accelerator Lab has supported e-learning capacity at the University of Eswatini through the provision of internet data for 7839 students, as well as the development and the experimentation of a digital learning platform aimed at exploring the use of app-based technologies for delivering content and supporting students in the learning process. The goal is to increase access and reduce the costs of tertiary education.

The importance for digital platforms has become even more clearer as schools closed for the safety of students and teachers during the pandemic. As they gradually reopened this month with a vast majority of students still remaining at home, solidarity and collaboration amongst all stakeholders are required to ensure that students in Eswatini have afforded access to safe and affordable Internet, as distance-learning may increase throughout and beyond the pandemic.

On 11 June 2020, the UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, launched the ‘Roadmap for Digital Cooperation’ and urged world leaders “to close the digital divide, grow human and institutional capacity for the digital age, uphold human rights in digital contexts, build cyber-trust and -security, and agree on a new global architecture for digital cooperation.” The Roadmap provides actions for Member States, the private sector, civil society, the technology community and the global public to connect, respect and protect people in the digital age. Central to the actions are human rights and the dignity of all people which must be protected both online and offline, enabling all people to have access to safe and affordable Internet by 2030, a service which does not allow abuse and violations of people.

Clearly, investment in industry, innovation and infrastructure through partnerships and inclusive approaches is critical in boosting economies and achieving the SDGs. Vital to the development of nations is a willingness to explore inclusively talent and opportunities within countries. As the  scientist Edith Widder once said, “exploration is the engine that drives innovation. Innovation drives economic growth.”

It is reassuring in this regard to see African nations, through Agenda 2063 of the African Union, taking important steps towards a sustainable and inclusive development that also  addresses ICTs.  The AU aspires to the growth of a peaceful and prosperous  African continent where “a well educated and skilled citizen, underpinned by science, technology and innovation for a knowledge society, is the norm and no child misses school due to poverty or any form of discrimination”.

In Eswatini, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mswati III, the Government is achieving SDG 9 through several pathways that include the establishment of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) to propel the country’s economic growth in the region. The SEZs will attract foreign and domestic investment and ensure the transfer of technology and the export of goods produced in the SEZs. 

The establishment of the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) is an example of the Special Economic Zones. The RSTP SEZ manages 317.7ha of land, comprising 159 ha for industrial development and 158ha for research laboratories, administration centres and residential buildings. Currently 80ha of the industrial development land at Nokwane is serviced and is readily available for the targeted investments.

A Master Plan is in place for the development of basic infrastructure for the remaining 79ha of the industrial development land on the Phocweni side of the RSTP. Other business units, namely the National Data Centre, the Incubation facility for start-ups and the Advanced School of IT provide complementary services to the RSTP SEZ. Underway is the completion of a One Stop Shop/Service Centre, which is intended to ease and expedite the administrative processes and procedures of doing business in the SEZ.

Equally, since 2019, much progress has been made in Eswatini in improving the quality of roads as well as accessibility for persons with disabilities. Disability-friendly traffic lights have been installed along busy town streets in Mbabane and Manzini. Accessible transport for all is critical indeed to ensure that we leave no one behind.

The establishment of the Eswatini Civil Aviation and Eswatini Railway has brought significant strides in rail and air transport, ensuring safe, secure, regular and efficient air transport services from Eswatini to South Africa and facilitating the importation and exportation of goods and cargo, respectively.

The COVID19 pandemic continues to demonstrate  that we must work collectively to build back better while addressing the climate crisis, inequalities, exclusion, gaps in social protection systems and fragilities.  There is no doubt that, while investments in health systems are critical, investments in industry, innovation and infrastructure will assist nations to build back and recover better.

SDG 9 and possibly 2030 Agenda cannot be attained without massive ICT investments that reach out to and benefit local populations, especially in remote and vulnerable communities. Once the acute phase of the COVID-19 crisis is over, countries will need investments in infrastructure more than ever before to accelerate economic recovery, create jobs, reduce poverty, and stimulate productive investment. Attention shall therefore be given without any delay to the attainment of SDG 9 targets.

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Goal 9 Targets

• Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
• Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
• Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
• By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
• Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
• Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological, and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing States 18
• Support domestic technology development, research, and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities
• Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020

Facts and Figures

• In 2018, 96 per cent of the world’s population lived within reach of a mobile-cellular signal, and 90 per cent of people could access the Internet through a third generation (3G) or higher-quality network.
• 16 per cent of the global population does not have access to mobile broadband networks.
• The global share of manufacturing value added in GDP increased from 15.2per cent in 2005 to 16.3per cent in 2017, driven by the fast growth of manufacturing in Asia.
• Least developed countries have immense potential for industrialization in food and beverages (agro-industry), and textiles and garments, with good prospects for sustained employment generation and higher productivity
• In 2019, the amount of new renewable power capacity added (excluding large hydro) was the highest ever, at 184 gigawatts, 20GW more than in 2018. This included 118GW of new solar systems, and 61GW of wind turbines.
• Capacity investment in solar slipped 3per cent to $131.1 billion in 2019, while that in wind climbed 6per cent to $138.2 billion – the first time that wind has outweighed solar in terms of dollars committed since 2010.
• Developing countries continued to outpace developed economies in renewables investment. In 2019, they committed $152.2 billion, compared to $130 billion for developed countries.