United Nations affirms role of ICT to overcoming poverty in Human Development Report 2001

The Human Development Report 2001, released by the United Nations in July 2001, calls for the harnessing new technologies, including information and communications technology (ICT), to help transform the lives of the poor.

According to UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown, the Human Development Report 2001 shows that, "the challenge for the 21st century is not whether to focus on technological advancement in addition to other development goals, but how to take advantage of new technologies and use them strategically as a tool for development."

"The report provides the international community with the strongest substantive evidence to date that ICT, used in the right way, can help the least developed countries and communities to actively participate in the increasingly globalized economy and society."

Read more about the Human Development Report 2001, including profiles of ICT for development activities in Brazil, Costa Rica, Estonia, India, Malaysia, South Africa and Tanzania, or download a copy of the Report, via these UNDP web sites:

• New technologies are key to overcoming poverty
• Information technology can be powerful development enabler, says report
• Human Development Report 2001