World’s Growing Refugee Population Requires Access to Broadband to Mitigate Problems, Says Report

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World’s Growing Refugee Population Requires Access to Broadband to Mitigate Problems, Says Report

By CircleID Reporter
April 30, 2019, 1:57 am PDT Views: 8,563 Comments: 2

Many of the problems refugees and their host countries face can be mitigated and made easier to solve if internet connectivity gaps are closed, says a team of senior communications experts working with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The group released a document this week on its “Global Broadband Plan for Refugee Inclusion” that sets out a new goal of universal connectivity for refugees, stating: “UNHCR aims, through creative partnerships and smart investments, to ensure that all refugees, and the communities that host them, have access to available, affordable and usable mobile and internet connectivity in order to leverage these technologies for protection, communications, education, health, self-reliance, community empowerment, and durable solutions.”

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A macro approach to impactful and wider solution for interim livelihood of Refugees. Sivasubramanian M – Apr 30, 2019 5:03 PM

UNHCR’s plan for Broadband Connectivity for Refugees would be of value. More could be done by networking Donor Organizations and Solution providers to enable them to collaborate on innovative solutions, raise investments necessary to improve their living conditions as Refugees, a status that often spans five or more years in some cases, for millions of Refugees. Various Governments offer land on lease to Corporations, what if the UNHCR or a large non-profit corporation makes use of existing long-term lease agreements, identify large tracts of land, in various Refugee zones, preferably in the border areas of various countries, lease and use the land area (where possible, with the status of Special Economic Zones) to develop farming and uncomplicated industries on a social business model more focused on the social objectives of providing decent housing and some form of temporary livelihood in farming and related industries to enable better living conditions and better emotional well being for Refugees? Such a program, on a MACRO scale in many locations, for instance in parts of Africa, could also be designed to achieve certain other objectives such as Quality of Food and other objectives.

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erratum in Comment #1 Sivasubramanian M – Apr 30, 2019 5:07 PM

“makes use of existing long-term lease agreements” to read as “makes use of existing long-term Governmental lease schemes (or private lands voluntarily made available for lease)

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