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WSIS, IT, Global: Western officials have so far been reluctant to contribute to the Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF), set up three months ago to bring the benefits of the IT revolution to the world’s poorest countries.
This led the Fund’s organisers to present their first full project at WSIS. The plan is to introduce satellite links for medical centres in Burkina Faso and Burundi, primarily to assist medical personnel in training and diagnosis, particularly where HIV and AIDS are concerned. Whereas at present only nine countries participate in DSF, expansion is on the way, the drivers being the heads of state of Nigeria, Senegal and Dominican Republic. Indeed, of the nine only one (France) is non-African. "The fund is very young. It needs all the support it can get at all levels. The private sector is still rather timid, they have not made a strong commitment," DSF official Elena Ursache has stated…We are expecting far more from the others. Africa is not very rich but she has a sense of solidarity. Cities, too, have a lot to bring." Ursache continued. So far the Geneva-based fund, which is focusing on IT projects that bring clear social or economic benefits in poor countries, has collected just 5.5 million euros ($6.4 million). In their campaign for funds this week, the organisers have been hoping that they will overcome the two-year reluctance of Western governments that has endured since DSF’s founding summit in Geneva. To date, only US$6.4 million has been raised (members bring a one-off contribution of euro 300,000 when they join). One purely voluntary factor is the payment of a 1% levy on IT purchases by DSF members. So far, only one city, Geneva, and four IT companies have won the right to carry the title “Digital Solidarity” as a result of implementing this strategy. |
