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Sorry Bill, but connectivity trumps vaccines

4 points by joosters 13y ago

bentaljaard 13y ago
Connectivity is a bit hard without infrastructure or electricity...you have to start with the basics. Healthcare and education are still big problems in Africa, especially in the rural parts. Once you have a stable base to build on things like connectivity becomes more important. I agree though that in the more developed areas, governments shouldn't underestimate the value and boost decent and cheap internet connectivity can make to the economy..
- mtgx 13y ago
  Internet will play a huge role for education in the future (it already does for self-taught people) not just all over the world, but especially in places like Africa where there is no time, nor money, to build schools fast enough across the whole of Africa, and then fund them, and get trained teachers to teach in them. That's orders of magnitude less efficient than the Internet will be for the people there, if you combine everything together. Technology has always raised the living conditions of countries. The more there was, the faster it has done it.
joosters 13y ago
"The poorest farmers can see real-time information on world markets and trade on it" Yeah, like every small rural farmer tending their modest allotment regularly checks the markets before deciding on what crops to plant!
DanBC 13y ago
Obviously Internet connectivity is important. But so is that other stuff. Dead people can't browse Wikipedia. Illiterate people have trouble with online documentation. Mamaribe Hata-Hata, a 17 year old girl, caring for her father. He's just been diagnosed as HIV+. her mother is dead. http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/200706267/mamaribe-hata-hata-17-and-her-father-ramarumo-hata-hata-who-has-just-tested-positive-for-hiv-20 http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/200706267/mamaribe-hat... Lineo Makojoa, a 15 year old girl, cooking dinner. She's an orphan. She often cooks for her grandparents and her siblings. http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007062619/lineo-makojoa-15-cooks-dinner-at-her-home-in-ha-majoro-village-in-lesotho-orphaned-by-hiv-and http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007062619/lineo-makoj... A boy getting a vaccination in a village built health centre. http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007082131/a-young-boy-is-given-vaccination-at-health-centre-in-clinic-in-gongoni-malindi-kenya-july-2007 http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007082131/a-young-boy... "Blood samples are taken by horse from Semenanyane clinic in mountainous eastern Lesotho to an urban centre for testing" http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/201202161000100395/blood-samples-are-taken-by-horse-from-semenanyane-clinic-in-mountainous-eastern-lesotho-to-an-urban http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/201202161000100395/blo...

4 points by joosters 13y ago

Connectivity is a bit hard without infrastructure or electricity...you have to start with the basics. Healthcare and education are still big problems in Africa, especially in the rural parts. Once you have a stable base to build on things like connectivity becomes more important. I agree though that in the more developed areas, governments shouldn't underestimate the value and boost decent and cheap internet connectivity can make to the economy..

mtgx 13y ago
Internet will play a huge role for education in the future (it already does for self-taught people) not just all over the world, but especially in places like Africa where there is no time, nor money, to build schools fast enough across the whole of Africa, and then fund them, and get trained teachers to teach in them. That's orders of magnitude less efficient than the Internet will be for the people there, if you combine everything together. Technology has always raised the living conditions of countries. The more there was, the faster it has done it.

joosters 13y ago

"The poorest farmers can see real-time information on world markets and trade on it" Yeah, like every small rural farmer tending their modest allotment regularly checks the markets before deciding on what crops to plant!

DanBC 13y ago

Obviously Internet connectivity is important. But so is that other stuff. Dead people can't browse Wikipedia. Illiterate people have trouble with online documentation. Mamaribe Hata-Hata, a 17 year old girl, caring for her father. He's just been diagnosed as HIV+. her mother is dead. http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/200706267/mamaribe-hata-hata-17-and-her-father-ramarumo-hata-hata-who-has-just-tested-positive-for-hiv-20 http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/200706267/mamaribe-hat... Lineo Makojoa, a 15 year old girl, cooking dinner. She's an orphan. She often cooks for her grandparents and her siblings. http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007062619/lineo-makojoa-15-cooks-dinner-at-her-home-in-ha-majoro-village-in-lesotho-orphaned-by-hiv-and http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007062619/lineo-makoj... A boy getting a vaccination in a village built health centre. http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007082131/a-young-boy-is-given-vaccination-at-health-centre-in-clinic-in-gongoni-malindi-kenya-july-2007 http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/2007082131/a-young-boy... "Blood samples are taken by horse from Semenanyane clinic in mountainous eastern Lesotho to an urban centre for testing" http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/201202161000100395/blood-samples-are-taken-by-horse-from-semenanyane-clinic-in-mountainous-eastern-lesotho-to-an-urban http://www.irinnews.org/photo/details/201202161000100395/blo...