COVID-19: ICT accelerating contact tracking, tracing – Pantami
Business
By Anayo Ezugwu
ISA Pantami, minister of communication and digital economy, has said that Information and Communication Technology, ICT, innovation is accentuating solutions in the health sector, especially at this time of a global pandemic. He said digital solutions might become the difference in making the health sector smarter in addressing the problems of the current pandemic.
Speaking at the presentation of grants to winners of digital solutions to COVID-19, Pantami noted that very smart solutions are evolving within the ICT industry as an important facilitator in contact tracking and tracing. He explained that several apps are now available to accelerate contact tracking and tracing for COVID-19.
“It is therefore important and encouraging that this competition is focused on digital solutions against the current pandemic. I understand that the winning start-ups and Digital SMEs have come up with promising innovative digital solutions to mitigate COVID-19 health and its attendant economic dislocation that is prevalent across all nations of the globe.
“When we talk about the economy, we must always realize that the digital economy and the traditional economy are very interdependent. They catalyze each other. According to Oxford Economics, the global digital economy is currently valued at $11.5 trillion or approximately 16 percent of the global economy. This value is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. Innovation and local content development are some of the ways we hope to make our launch pad into the global digital economy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, innovations without adoption may lead to retardation. This is why we have laid emphasis on the need for deployment of solid infrastructure in Nigeria, as also indicated in our digital economic strategy roadmap. Deployment of infrastructure like fibre optics rings round the country will ensure that whatever solutions evolved in the sector are made available for adoption and application,” he said.
– Sept. 2 2020 @ 17:05 GMT |
Most Read
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Keep abreast of news and other developments from our website.