Despite being the second-largest online market with over 560 million internet users, less than half of India’s population has access to the internet. As in other parts of the world, the digital divide in India increased during the pandemic.

In moments of crisis, most of us instinctively seek human connections. However, establishing and maintaining these connections is one of the biggest challenges NGOs and service providers face.

We call on all relevant UN agencies to take concrete steps with the digital industry and governments to accelerate universal access to digital services, including public–private financing to extend connectivity to hard-to-reach populations.

The problem of half the world not having access to the internet is a real one and is growing the chasm between the haves and have nots so the more people addressing this issue the better.

18 million households remain unconnected to the internet in the USA. For the wealthiest nation in the word, this exacerbates inequality and social divide.

In the developing world micro-businesses make up a large percentage of the economy. Internet connectivity is critical to fuel their growth and impact the economy..