ICT as a Development Enabler: A Review of the Case of Yemen
Helmi Noman
Summary
This article discusses the potential role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Yemen’s development process, presents an analytical overview of the current ICT diffusion, discusses areas of strategic interventions and national initiatives in this regard, and offers recommendations on ICT policy formulations. This article is an abridged version of a comprehensive and lengthy research paper.
Introduction
Empirical evidence proves that a well planned, micro-level application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has significantly contributed to development in the five key areas identified by the UN Millennium Summit as development imperatives: Health, education, economic opportunity, empowerment and participation, and protection of environment. Thus, many developing countries have started to integrate ICT to their development activities.
The definition of ICT is not limited to or associated with computers and computer networks alone. ICT is “the set of activities which facilitate by electronic means the processing, transmission and display of information”[i]. Another more comprehensive definition is: “ICTs are a complex and varied set goods, applications and services used for producing, distributing, processing, transforming information – [including] telecoms, TV and radio broadcasting, hardware and software, computer services and electronic media”[ii]
Being one of the least developed countries in the world, it is no coincident that Yemen, of 175 surveyed countries, ranked 148 in the Technology Diffusion and Creation Index in the Human Development Report 2003.[iii]
A strategic approach to the use of ICT for development in Yemen can evidently help the country achieve development goals including:
1. Improving the health care delivery system
2. Improving the efficiency, accessibility and quality of the learning process
3. Creating economic opportunities, generating income, and reducing poverty
4. Making government process more efficient and transparent
5. Creating sustainable environmental management
Situation Analysis in Brief
1. Public policy-makers tend to limit the definition of ICT to computers and computer networks only.
2. There is a lack of a comprehensive vision of the value of ICT in the development context. Generally, ICT is envisioned as part of either the service or production sector. However, the impact, usability, and sustainability of ICT in development are not strongly understood.
3. Because there is no comprehensive vision of the value of ICT in development, there is no implementation plan that makes effective use of ICT to address the Millennium Development Goals.
4. There is a weak donor contribution in projects that harness the power of ICT for development.
5. Public policy-makers are not well exposed to the culture of information-based environment.
ICT and Education
An overview of the current status of ICT diffusion in education is presented here as an example to illustrate the current employment of ICT in Yemen.
Enhancing the quality of the learning process in Yemen by integrating information technology into education is essential to establish a knowledge-based society. The Yemeni educational institutions have not utilized ICT-mediated learning, thus educational values such as experiential learning, interactivity, and individualism are not being achieved.
While a drastic shortage of fiscal resources is always blamed for the lack of such integration, the real problem in many cases is the absence of proper planning and skilful planners, who can with the necessary institutional support, innovatively make the first steps of integration at low marginal cost.
For example, most of the Yemeni educational institutions have not made use of the available Internet service to create an environment that makes the learning process interactive, collaborative, and student-centered. By and large, learners are not encouraged to explore global activities using the Internet.
Internet Users at a Glance
The total number of Internet subscriptions in Yemen as of July 2003 is 23,357.[iv] The total number of users, however, is estimated to be 93,428.
Statistics presented here are taken from a research study released August 2002 titled “An Overview of The Demographics and Usage Patterns of Internet Users in Developing Countries: Yemeni Internet Population as a Case Study” [v].
1. Penetration Rate
The lowest penetration rate in Yemen is among educational institutions (2%), followed by government offices (1%).
Table 1
Organizational Distribution | |
Commercial |
60% |
Personal |
23% |
Foreign organizations and expatriates |
14% |
Educational |
2% |
Government |
1% |
2. Major Characteristics of Internet Users
· The typical Yemeni Internet user is male (86%), single (66%), young (47% are 18 – 24 years old), finished high school (68%), and makes between US$100 and US$200 of monthly income (43%).
· Internet cafés are the primary Internet access venues for 61% of the Internet population followed by place of work (24%) and home (13%). Only 2% have access from their schools.
Table 2
Primary Internet Access Location | |
Internet Café |
61% |
Work |
24% |
Home |
13% |
School |
2% |
· 14% of the Internet users have personal Internet subscriptions and 25% own PCs.
3. Usage Patterns
· Email communication is the number one reason for using the Internet (43%) followed by browsing information (31%) and chatting (24%).
· Browsing entertainment sites is the top online activity (45%) followed by browsing news and information about politics (23%) and Islamic sites (19%).
Table 3
Online Activities | |
Entertainment |
45% |
News/Politics |
23% |
Islamic |
19% |
Academic Research |
5% |
Product/Service Information |
3% |
Job Hunting |
3% |
Work related Research |
2% |
The fact that the lowest penetration rate in Yemen is among educational institutions (2%), only 2% of the Internet users have access from their schools and academic institutions, and that academic research accounts for only 5% of the online activities indicate a very low diffusion of ICT into education. This can be attributed to the following:
1. Yemeni educational institutions have not integrated ICT into the education system. Sana’a State University, which has the biggest body of students in the country, has not incorporated information technology as an educational delivery tool, neither does it have an Internet ready computer network.
2. Specialized Internet training for academic research is virtually absent in most state and private academic institutions.
3. None of the Yemeni universities have subscriptions to online academic databases.
4. Some of the private universities, notably the University of Science and Technology, make access to the Internet available to their students as a value added service. However, connectivity in these schools is usually very slow because their networks depend on either sharing single dialup accounts or inefficient ISDNs via proxy or gateway servers.
5. English, the language of the majority of the research materials published on the Internet, is not the language of instruction of most areas of academic studies.
Strategic Interventions
Strategic intervention is essential to overcome Yemen’s major ICT challenges, which include poor infrastructure - especially in rural areas - high telecommunication costs, absence of policies, inadequate skilled workforce, and absence of the culture of knowledge-based economies.
Stakeholders of ICT for Development in Yemen can take advantage of a well-developed framework of strategic interventions that is based on lessons learnt from varied experiences of the role of ICT in development. The framework, developed by the Digital Opportunity Initiative, consists of five critically interrelated areas of strategic intervention:[vi]
Infrastructure – deploying a core ICT network infrastructure, achieving relative ubiquity of access, and investing in strategically-focused capacity to support high development priorities.
Human Capacity – building a critical mass of knowledge workers, increasing technical skills among users and strengthening local entrepreneurial and managerial capabilities.
Policy – supporting a transparent and inclusive policy process, promoting fair and open competition, and strengthening institutional capacity to implement and enforce policies.
Enterprise – improving access to financial capital, facilitating access to global and local markets, enforcing appropriate tax and property rights regimes, enabling efficient business processes and stimulating domestic demand for ICT.
Content and Applications – providing demand-driven information which is relevant to the needs and conditions experienced by local people.
National Initiatives
Several national ICT initiatives, programs, and services have been developed or are being currently developed. Among them are:
1. Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology (MTIT) started since 2002 to offer free dialup Internet. Even though this initiative was at the expense of speed, the total number of Internet users increased from an estimated 46,400 users in July 2002 to an estimated 93,428 users in July 2003. Internet via ISDN and Leased Lines is available from both MTIT and Teleyemen.
2. MTIT is developing Yemen’s National Information Technology Master Plan, which includes building the infrastructure necessary for e-government and introducing services such as E-Riyal.
3. The National Information Center (NIC) developed the National Information Strategy.
4. The newly established technology-building Community Colleges in Sana’a and Aden started in the academic year 2000-2001. The Community College System in expected to help develop the IT sector in Yemen by preparing human resources required for development in the fields of engineering, technology, and business management, and by providing vocational and technical training for the citizens of the local communities.
5. Even though not well emphasized, ICT for Human Development Purposes was recognized as one of the priority programs and projects in higher education in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), 2003-2005.[vii]
Recommendations
1. Developing an ICT for Development Strategy by a committee that should include in addition to heads of government stakeholders from the private sector, business and local communities, NGOs and representatives from the donor community. The role of each stakeholder needs be recognized and strategic partnerships should be supported.
2. Adopting a holistic approach to the five areas of strategic interventions, but at the same time acknowledging existing limitations and overcoming them by prioritizing development initiatives.
3. Adopting a cross-cutting employment of ICT as a strategy and apply ICT to the full range of human activity to accelerate the process of social and economic development.
4. Introducing technologies such as Wi-Fi, which helps overcome poor infrastructure. The United Nations and the Wireless Internet Institute kicked off a global effort in June 2003 to use wireless LANs and other wireless technologies in developing countries. The short-range Wi-Fi, 30-mile-range Metropolitan Networks based on 802.16 standards and a fiber-optic backbone will help developing countries deliver cost effective and scalable Internet access.
Such technology can help Yemen “leapfrog” many ICT generations and overcome the current infrastructural challenges, especially in rural areas. For example, Mobile Internet Units can be provided to remote areas using this technology.
5. Recognizing that there are differences in access to, and use of ICT in developed and developing countries, and that there are many success stories in the employment of ICT for development in many societies that have priorities and challenges similar to those of Yemen.
6. Seeking assistance of international initiatives, such as UN ICT Task Force and DOT Force to make a substantial contribution to further the understanding of ICT’s role in Yemen’s development process.
7. Introducing ICT for Development to UNDP’s practice areas in Yemen.
8. Developing the IT sector within Yemen as an integral part of the development activities, and considering the IT sector as one of the essential sets of development tools.
9. Encouraging technology-building initiatives, specialized computer training, and ICT-mediated technical and vocational learning to produce students who can obtain jobs in the local IT market.
10. Exposing public policy-makers to the culture of information-based environment.
Final note
ICTs do not make up for the deficiencies in development systems. However, if ICT is strategically integrated into Yemen’s overall national development plans and is effectively employed, ICT will contribute a great deal to achieve the development goals. It is important to start with identifying the development goals, translate the goals to ICT requirements, and identify the necessary ICT support to maintain the process.
References
[i] Rodriguez and Wilson, 2000
[ii] Marcelle, 2000
[iii] Human Development Report 2003. Oxford University Press, 2003.
[iv] Yemen.net’s subscribers are 15,000 and Ynet’s are 8,357.
[v] “An Overview of The Demographics and Usage Patterns of Internet Users in Developing Countries: Yemeni Internet Population as a Case Study”. Helmi Noman. Released August 2002.
[vi] Creating a Development Dynamic, Final Report of the Digital Opportunity Initiative. July 2001. Accenture, Markle Foundation, UNDP
[vii] Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper (PRSP) 2003-2005. 31 May 2002.
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