Digital infrastructure correlates strongly with UN sustainability development goals

Last week, I had the honor of speaking at a United Nations panel that looked at how science and technology can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

These 17 goals offer an ambitious pathway to end poverty, fight inequality, and tackle climate change. They are wide-ranging, but have one thing in common: all rely on the enabling power of information and communications technology (ICT).

As a leading ICT company, Huawei has a keen interest in how ICT contributes to economic prosperity and higher standards of living. Our annual Global Connectivity Index, which looks at the global development of ICT infrastructure, has already established a strong correlation between ICT investment and economic growth –  one that has been confirmed in other reports.

But this year we decided to add a sustainability element to the equation. We published a separate report assessing the correlation between ICT investment and SDG progress in 15 developing or developed countries.

When accounting for SDG 3, SDG 4, SDG 5, SDG 9, SDG 11, and SDG 13, we found a 90% overall correlation between ICT investment and SDG performance.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the strongest individual correlation is with SDG 9, which aims to promote the development of:  

• Infrastructure, which makes societies more efficient and productive
• Industrialization, which creates jobs and investment opportunities 
• Innovation, which supports technological advancement and helps people acquire new skills.

Today, most vital infrastructure is controlled and enhanced by ICT: power grids, water supplies, transportation hubs, etc. This makes ICT infrastructure an economic cornerstone, not just in terms of utilities and logistics, but in terms of empowerment. Broadband access enables people to obtain education, start businesses, create jobs, and much more.

This is why more than 140 countries have developed a national broadband strategy. And yet four billion people still lack Internet access. Nearly two billion don’t own a mobile phone, and almost half a billion people live outside areas with a mobile signal.

This means policymakers must expand ICT infrastructure, while ensuring that national policies support the SDGs.  They can do this in two ways.  

First, governments need to make the necessary investments in research and development, since R&D is critical to both innovation and sustainable industrial development. As of 2013, the latest year for which figures are available, global R&D spending as a proportion of GDP stood at 2.1%, but only 1.2% for developing regions, and less than 0.3% for the least developed countries and landlocked developing countries.

Private enterprises must also play their part. Since its founding 30 years ago, Huawei has re-invested more than 10% of our annual revenue into R&D. Last year, it was more than 14%, or about US$11 billion. We believe that this investment will build long-term competitive advantage not just for Huawei, but also for businesses in other economies.

Second, policymakers and corporate leaders must do everything possible to promote collaboration across industries and technical platforms. As we move towards a world where everything is connected, we need to think about collaboration with a whole new mindset, and involve a wider range of partners  so that the benefits and value are shared more sustainably.

One example of successful collaboration comes from Kenya’s Digital Health Program, which directly addresses SDG3, aimed at promoting health and well-being. 

Lamu County, on Kenya’s northern coast, has one of the country’s highest rates of maternal and child mortality. Better ICT would allow for live video consultations with people who can’t get to a doctor, better handling of patient records and medical referrals, and better management of medical inventory so that life-saving medicines are available and not past their expiry dates.

The digitization of Lamu County’s entire health sector covers 28 facilities and 200,000 people. It was made possible thanks to the robust collaboration of multiple partners:

• Micro Clinic Technologies, a Kenyan social enterprise that provides special software which collects data at the point of care
• Huawei, which provided Matebook tablets on which to run the software
• Safaricom, Kenya’s mobile telecoms operator, to provide connectivity
• Kenya’s Ministry of Health and ICT Authority, along with the World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union to provide policy guidance and technical support
• UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to provide health expertise, local technical support, and alignment with other agendas
• County governments and health facilities
• Medical device partners

If we lay the right foundations by continuing to innovate and build up ICT infrastructure, the world will become a better connected, more prosperous place. We will be well on our way to inclusive and sustainable future in 2030.

For the SDG Benchmarking report, please check Huawei’s sustainability webpage. It’s not up yet, but is scheduled to be released in mid-June!