As we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, the world must invest in digital infrastructure as well as health care

The shift to online activities due to the pandemic has only amplified the digital divide
The gap between the haves and the have-nots will only increase unless the developing world is supported in boosting digital infrastructure

Jin Liqun

Published: 9:00pm, 27 May 2020

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With the force of a whirlwind, Covid-19 has visited its wrath on many countries, inflicting considerable damage – visible and invisible, physical and psychological.

While many governments around the world have started to ease restrictions put in place to flatten the curve of Covid-19 cases and contain the spread of the virus, millions of people are emerging from lockdown into a world that is much changed.

Jobs have been lost and loved ones are gone forever. Learning the right lessons should be a top priority so the international community can be better prepared the next time humankind is faced with a common enemy incarnated in a new pathogen.

Many people naturally yearn to get back to normal, but normal is not good enough for many citizens in developing economies. Our ambition must be to build a better post-crisis society.

A gravedigger rests at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 18. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a loss of both lives and livelihoods. Photo: EPA-EFE

The world economy was brought to a halt when the weakest legs on the chair gave way. Those broken parts are health care and digital infrastructure. Much has been written about health care systems and there are coordinated international efforts to provide grants and short-term low-interest loans to strengthen investments in health and pandemic preparedness.

Asia’s senior citizens will nearly double from around 400 million to 800 million in 20 years’ time. Health care infrastructure will be needed to keep citizens active and productive.

The other weak link that has been identified by Covid-19 is the vast digital divide. In Asia, 2.4 billion people still do not have access to the internet. Many also suffer from low access speeds. In our modern world, access to the internet can unlock vast economic opportunity.

With such unequal levels of access, the scars of economic dislocation also fall unequally, with the poor bearing the greatest brunt. The key lesson here is that broadband penetration needs more investment from the development and private sectors to close this connectivity gap.

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After one of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s investments in Bangladesh, a woman was able to use a smartphone to video-call her husband, a migrant worker in Oman, every day. Think about the fundamental change access to this technology has had on their lives.

That particular project was about access to electricity for rural households, but the impact reminds me of what many people are facing today.

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For those of us who are social distancing, how would we fare without the daily contact we enjoy through our online communities for work, fun and entertainment? Now imagine if you were social distancing without this option. This is the reality for billions of people.

Wealthier countries have the digital infrastructure in place to allow many people to almost seamlessly move their work from the office to home. For people on lower incomes, this digital divide has only become amplified in the current environment.

A worker from Bangladesh checks his phone in an accommodation block where foreign workers have been quarantined to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, in Male, the capital of the Maldives, on May 9. Photo: AFP

Four billion people around the world are still not connected to the internet. In Asia, only 26 per cent of the rural population has access to broadband, and women are 10 per cent less likely to own a mobile, with this gap growing to 28 per cent in South Asia.

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During this pandemic, access to the internet has facilitated better sharing of information and connection to the community. It has enabled billions to continue living and working with minimal disruption. For those without reliable access to the internet, these important activities have all but ground to a halt, limiting their ability to secure any income, procure necessary provisions and continue their schooling.

The need for investment in digital infrastructure has never been so glaring and must be prioritised by the development community. The digital divide will only further exacerbate the gap between the haves and the have-nots as our world moves increasingly online.

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Before the outbreak of Covid-19, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank had already provided support to some countries to improve their broadband and other areas of digital infrastructure. Much remains to be done.

The AIIB and its partners are looking to offer solutions to the bottlenecks in digital infrastructure investment, such as longer loan and project bond maturities and appropriate financing instruments that help countries and firms manage their balance sheets even as they undertake these long-term investments.

We are a global community. Only through international cooperation and investment in key sectors can we be ready for the next crisis. Prioritising investment in health care right now is correct and understandable, but we must not lose sight of the longer-term objectives of an inclusive and sustainable world.

Digital technology has the power to transform the global economy and can be a great enabler of the economic recovery we desperately need. Given its potential impact and the role it will play in the future, I see a clear need to prioritise digital infrastructure coming out of this pandemic.

Jin Liqun is president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

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This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Why we need to invest in health care and digital infrastructure

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