Addis Ababa, 01/12/2022 (MAP) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management Jean-Paul Adam underscored the importance of building the information and communication sector infrastructure in Africa.

Jean-Paul made the comments during a session at the ongoing Internet Governance Forum taking place in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, that runs until Friday, the UNECA said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

The UNECA official emphasized the crucial importance of providing access to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in Africa.

« Africa has the lowest implementation of appropriate capacity development aspects with only 25 percent of citizens having access to basic ICT skills, » Adam said.

The UNECA is working with the government of Rwanda to establish a regional center of excellence on education from science to technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics to support curriculum development with a particular focus on ICT across the continent at the early education level, he added.