Taking Advantage of ICT in the Advent of Covid-19 Pandemic
Technology has to be Invented or Adopted -Jared Diamond
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is indispensable in modern society. It is such a pervasive and powerful tool for enhanced productivity and wellbeing. ICT is visible in education, entertainment, business, transportation logistics, trade and commerce, communication, health, finance, to name a few. It is often touted as an enabler of economic growth and development. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), ICT offers equal opportunity for everyone.
What is ICT? While there is no generally accepted definition of the term, there is a consensus on information generation, manipulation and sharing, albeit in digital formats only. It is the use of unified communications and integrating telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers and software including audio-visual systems to access, store, manipulate and transmit information. Simply put, the use of computers, phones and other devices to retrieve, process and share information.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the case for and demand for ICT has increased with the social, economic, educational, and political life of humanity affected. Restrictions on gatherings and the encouragement of social distancing are policies put in place to contain it’s spread. The impact of the pandemic is more than the 2011 Hollywood film Contagion foretold. According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) there are over 20,000 confirmed cases with over 7,000s recoveries as at the time of writing. At the global level, the number of cases is in the millions and deaths in the hundreds of thousands. The implication is that while there is a gradual easing of the lockdown, the pandemic is still part of our everyday life. Hence, the need to adopt strategies that are less disruptive and yet, increase the chances of managing the pandemic. One such approach lies in the utility of ICT.
The opportunity offered by ICT is unique for governments, businesses irrespective of size, type or location, institutions, and individuals. For example, when a total lockdown was imposed, and schools shut down, some private universities in Nigeria with the requisite ICT infrastructure continued their academic session virtually. In Indonesia, farmers and consumers have taken advantage of technologies that allowed the exchange of goods and services (e-commerce) and reduced the spread of the virus. In Dehradun district, India, the government has deployed technologies for remote administration of the district including the generation e-pass, command and control, live communication of update in the district regarding the management of the virus. One case that begs to mention is the event management industry. With the shutting down of large gatherings and events, governments, organisations and individuals have turned to ICT (e-conference) with apps like Zoom, Run the World and Blue Jean coming in handy. Even regular applications like Gmail and Microsoft Outlook now have virtual meeting tools embedded in them. The question, therefore, are how can individuals, small businesses, big companies and governments take advantage of ICT in the current COVID-19 pandemic? What are the prospects of utilizing ICT in Nigeria to ward off the harsher effects of the pandemic?
Currently, there are about 20 to 40 million smartphone users in Nigeria, with that number predicted to triple by 2025. The implication for businesses and institutions is that there is a large online market. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) can utilize tools such as digital invoicing app, waybill/tracking platforms, and online payment. For learning and upskilling purposes, there are a plethora of educational/gaming apps and services for free or with a minimal subscription. Sites such as www.alison.com, www.futurelearn.com and LinkedIn learning offer opportunities for us all to learn new skills that are consistent with what is generally referred to as the new normal society. Government at different levels; federal, state and local can take advantage of e-government platforms that allow for minimum face-to-face contact with administrative function fully integrated and operational. Information Technology enabled agriculture is now big business. In parts of Africa like Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana, numerous speciality apps that enable farmers to connect with input providers, off-takers and even investors exist. Medicine is also another technology frontier with huge opportunities. The imperative to utilize the offering of ICT in the current health crisis cannot be overemphasized especially as all hands must be desk to stop the spread of the virus. Technology solution providers working with tools generally referred to as ABCD (artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data analytics) are at the forefront of ensuring that our current and near-future provides for a better world.
