Photo Credit: Jan Chipchase

On August 11, Afghans will be able to receive free access to radio news broadcasts, cricket scores, and other informational audio content through their mobile phones.

The USAID project—named Mobile Khabar, roughly translated to “News” in Dari and Pashtu”—is made to improve Afghans’ access to information and empower local journalists.

With 28 percent illiteracy, and an estimated 60 percent of Afghans using mobiles, cellular phones are a widely used technology more accessible than radio and have a much wider reach.

Troy Etulain, the project’s architect and a senior advisor for media development in USAID’s Office of Democracy and Governance, says that when the system is up and running in a month, users will be subscribe to local radio reports by dialing a four-digit code on their cellphones.

Troy Etulain in Afghanistan Photo Credit: World Learning

The information will include everything from national cricket scores to English lessons offered through the Afghan foreign ministry. Additionally, audio bloggers will contribute to commentaries through a system similar to voicemail.

The system uses interactive voice response, or IVR and provides free, customizable menus of news and public information via mobile, making a variety of topics for the caller to choose from.

For example, a user could listen to a requested cricket update then hear a story about HIV/AIDS in her hometown, followed by the option to leave a message. The system can also be programmed to tell the user the number of AIDS patients nearby, letting her know that she’s not alone and creating a virtual community similar to other social media sites.

“If the technology connects, empowers or protects them or helps make other people who are not part of the community aware of them and their potential, then it’s doing profoundly new things,” Etulain declares.

USAID funding for the project runs on a $7 million grant that may increase to $16 million if option years on the main contract are fulfilled.

Mobile Khabar is just one part of USAID’s media development program in Afghanistan—the largest the agency has ever funded using new technologies, and regional journalism training centers, to seek and fill information not covered in newsrooms.

Within the centers, professional Afghan journalists and citizen bloggers are being trained in everything from Internet media skills and business management, to the reporting basics, such as ethical objectivity and story selection, Etulain says.

One of the common ways USAID utilizes these journalistic skills on the ground, is supporting community radio stations with the goal of making their operations solvent and the programming relevant to their audience, which encourages civil society participation.

For example, a call-in show that allows citizens to question their elected officials or covers topics that might not otherwise get airplay, like domestic violence or school dropout rates.

Mobile Khabar is a platform that allows local radio stations to become available on mobile phones, an innovative approach that extends the reach of information while encouraging sustainable economic development.

“From a media development perspective, this says to a local radio station in Mazari Sharif: ‘OK, now you have a national audience,” Etulain explains, “Wherever people have access to mobile phones, they can listen to you. And you get paid more the more people that listen to you.”

USAID funding for the project’s programs and bloggers are distributed based on their popularity: the more listeners they attract, the more money those programs and bloggers will earn, he says.

The Mobile Khabar project is a complement between old journalism and new technologies, providing an accessible avenue to inform Afghan civil society on relevant content. All while empowering local journalists to speak up and contribute information on what they see to their people.

With a greater sense of collective security and a fast-growing economy fueled by its budding oil industry, most of The Republic of South Sudan is poised for recovery and development at the onset of nationhood.

Although South Sudan’s slate of challenges are not easily enumerable, issues relating to the environment, including land degradation, deforestation and the impact of climate change, must be addressed with urgency. This constellation of challenges threaten the newly independent nation’s long-term peace and stability, food security and sustainable development.

But an effective response requires copious, accurate and reliable data that isn’t readily available. This paucity of information about South Sudan’s environmental landscape is due to unique factors brought about by the more than two decades long civil war with its now northern neighbor. The war, which ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, displaced nearly a half of the population of 8 million and claimed nearly 2 million lives.

Throughout the years of displacement, previously overgrazed lands and wildlife were naturally replenished to some degree. But as an estimated 4 million people return to their ancestral lands on the cusp of independence in a resource rich but ecologically unsound and economically stagnant society, the natural gains made in restoring the environment is in jeopardy. It would be illogical to suggest that the return of a displaced people is within and of itself the cause of this crisis, rather, it is the lack of information about where people will settle and the state of the environment in those places that is at the core of the problem.

To respond to this challenge, the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) ought to make more coordinated use of the 2005 post-conflict environmental assessment it commissioned UNEP

Photo Credit: Frank Langfitt/NPR

to conduct. The finding from the UNEP study may be transformed into a resource akin to Virtual Kenya, an online interactive web  platform for charting human environmental health with related material for those with no access to the internet. This is one tangible way in which ICTs, including GIS technologies may be used to tackle South Sudan’s environmental challenges.

As I’ve noted in previous blogs focused on South Sudan and the role of ICTs, there is limited scope for the use of high tech ICTs at this point, due to systemic and structural impediments, including literacy, connectivity, access and market environment. However, traditional technologies such as radio ought to be used to provide timely, accurate and contextually appropriate information about environmental conservation. It is important that the farming community, the largest economically active block in the country, be sensitized about this. Land degradation, for instance, is heightened by population pressure, intensification of agriculture, water-logging and salinity, among other things. Both water-logging and salinity are caused by poor irrigation and drainage, deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and poverty.

So, as South Sudan claims nationhood, it is imperative that the environment be a priority for the GoSS and its people. A clear ICT strategy with medium to long-term goals is needed. It ought to emphasize how ICTs will be leveraged to improve basic farm extension services to reduce poor soil management, and other agricultural related causes of land degradation. The wider thrust to sensitize the nation about environmental issues ought to also prioritize the well-being of wildlife, much of which was devastated during the war. There is clear economic, environmental and social benefits to be reaped from this.

As with so many nations on the cusp of self-determination, South Sudan can take a path that will secure the fortunes of its people. The preservation of the environment is central to achieving this, and that is only possible if there is national buy-in. Too few governments have been proactive in informing their citizens.

The interim Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has requested that telecoms companies operating in the region suspend work until the administration publishes new regulations for the sector, with no specific target date for the regulations to be published.  Some early regulation methodologies were discussed in February of this year, when leaders in the ICT industry affiliated with South Sudan met with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and discussed a possible three-year strategic plan for the new nation.

Photo: CIO East Africa

In October 2010, CTO helped GoSS organize a conference, entitled ICT4D: Southern Sudan.  From the conference and a previous ICT strategy report created by Pricewatershouse Coopers LLC in 2008, GoSS and CTO drafted an inception report during the consultation visit in February 2011, but they did not create any official policies.  The strategic plan includes involving ICTs in all sectors of Sudan’s infrastructure and economy.  CEO Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah of the CTO exclaimed his excitement: “This new nation will have the opportunity to not merely leap-frog, but to cheetah pole-vault over other nations, if it is methodical about its approach in the ICT and other sectors.”

Currently, though, telecommunication companies in South Sudan are in limbo.  CEO of Zain telecoms, Hisham Mustafa Allam, said he could not be ‘100 per cent’ sure that the company’s mobile license would be valid in South Sudan after July. ‘There’s potential for South Sudan, but there are big challenges,’ he said, adding: ‘One of the problems we have right now is it costs lots of money to build sites and do a rollout (of fiber) in the south.’  South Sudan will have to rely on fiber from Kenya and Uganda, making the costs potentially quite high.  Zain has reportedly invested 20% of its total expenditures in the south of Sudan, including around 150 base stations.

South Sudan carried out a national survey in 2009, but did not include questions regarding Internet access.  However, only 15% of households own a phone, including 8% in rural areas and 59% in urban areas (primarily in the capital city, Juba).  The lack of households with phones indicates a lack of electricity and connectivity possibilities in general.

Despite these difficulties, broadband connectivity is within reach.  There are three current submarine cables that run to Port Sudan, in the north.  From Port Sudan, there is a terrestrial backbone network that extends to major urban areas in the north of Sudan.  However, no cables have been laid in South Sudan and there are no plans to connect the backhaul cables in the north with the south, as seen in the map pictured.  These cables are:

• EASSy – (an East Africa Submarine Cable System with endpoints in South Africa and the Sudan)
• FLAG FALCON – (FLAG Alcatel-Lucent Optical Network) – (Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, India, Maldives)
• SAS-1 – (Saudi Arabia-Sudan)

Map: Mohamed El Bashir Hiraika

However, there are a series of cable networks near South Sudan that could potentially be expanded into the country:

• KDN – Terrestrial cables have been laid and are under-construction in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.  Discussions are underway to route the cables north to Juba.
• Seacom – Involved in the undersea EASSy cables along the coast of East Africa.  They announced in June 2011 that they were going to move inland, working with governments of Burundi, Southern Sudan, and Somalia to make a terrestrial cable link in the Somali Cluster (also known as the East African Community – EAC).  Most likely, Seacom will partner with KDN and Altech, among other partners.
• WIOCC – The largest investor at 29% in the EASSy cable system, the West Indian Ocean Cable Company is comprised of the main telecommunications firms in twelve African countries (listed below).  They are constructing East African terrestrial backhaul cables, including a cable line from Kampala, Uganda to Khartoum, Northern Sudan.  This line appears to run directly through Southern Sudan, with no plans to land the cable until Khartoum.
  • Botswana Telecommunications Corporation
  • DALKOM Somalia
  • Djibouti Telecom
  • Gilat Satcom Nigeria
  • Government of Seychelles
  • Lesotho Telecommunications Authority
  • Onatel Burundi
  • TDM Mozambique
  • Telkom Kenya
  • UCOM Burundi
  • Uganda Telecom Limited
  • Zantel Tanzania.
• INTELSAT – Their satellite New Dawn has alleged potential to cover most of Africa, with the highest bandwidth in West Africa.  No private companies in Sudan, nor the Sudanese government, has partnered with them to construct a point of contact.
• Umojanet – The African Union program “Nepad” wants to create a terrestrial cable system throughout the African continent, which they call Umojanet.  Nepad first expressed this dream in 2000.

In addition to private sector investments in broadband infrastructure, national governments near in East Africa are also investing in fiber optic cables.  Their willingness to politically and financially support national broadband networks makes the possible of public-private partnerships more possible.  As reported by Seacom in June 2011:

• The governments of the East African Community (EAC) are investing over US$400 million in their respective national backbone infrastructure.  The cables cover more than 20,600 km.
• Rwanda completed a 2300km cable costing more than $60 million.
• Tanzania continues to lay its $170 million, 10,000km plus cable.
• Burundi is also laying out the cable of 1300 km with the help of $10.5 million grant from the World Bank.
• Uganda, acquired a Chinese loan of about $102 million to implement the 2,000km plus cable.
• Kenya is also investing $60 million in the National Optic Fiber Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI).  Some 5,000km of the cable had been laid down by June 2010.

Given these investments, South Sudan will feel pressure to compete with its neighbors in the ICT industry, potentially leading the government to support their own national networks and backhaul system.  Yet, given the tremendous financial burdens that the government will have in all of its sectors of development, much of the success regarding the ICT and telecommunications industries will depend on public-private partnerships.

Photo: NDI

ICT4E projects are needed in South Sudan for two major reasons: (1) the majority of the population is illiterate, and (2) 83% reside in rural areas.  Illiterate adults and rural populations can both be served via radio services.  Adults can listen to the radio while completing other tasks and people in rural areas often do not have access to education among primary school, as the distance to secondary schools is too large.  Some radio projects have already been conducted in South Sudan, but their success is unknown.

Map: Mohamed El Bashir Hiraika

The current status of education in South Sudan among the 8.26 million people in South Sudan is particular grim, as seen in the national survey collected in 2009.

• 52 students per teacher
• 129 students per classroom
• 37% of the population above the age of six has ever attended school
• 27% of those 15 years and above are literate.
• The literacy rate for males is 40% compared to 16% for females
• 53% of the urban adult population is literate, compared to 22% of the rural adult population
• 40% of the population between 15-24 is literate. The literacy rate for males in this age group is 55% compared to 28% for females.

With support from UNESCO, UNDP, and UNICEF, a few preliminary ICT programs in the national education system of Sudan proper have been implemented.  However, many of the projects were cut short as a result of conflict, funding, and a lack of communication among associated parties.  Others focused primarily on built capital, such as bringing computers to as many schools as possible, while neglecting social capital, like training people to use the computers well.  Internet connections in schools, as well as Internet literacy training courses, were extremely limited in these programs.  A few of the projects, as documented in a 2007 InfoDev report, are listed below.  However, there has been a lack of monitoring and evaluation of the projects.  Subsequently, it is unclear whether and to what degree the projects were successful in South Sudan.

• Civic Education via Radio for Southern Sudan: In partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Education Development Center Sudan Radio Service has developed a new civic education radio series that will increase listeners’ knowledge of political developments and also promote increased discussion of political developments, tolerance of diverse viewpoints, and non-violent solutions to complex problems.
• Sudan Radio Service: As part of an effort to increase the participation of the southern Sudanese, the Sudan Radio Service provides access to balanced and useful information through radio-based education and entertainment programs presented by local presenters in several local languages.
• dot-EDU Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction (SSIRI) Program: This program designs, develops, and pilot-tests appropriate and cost-effective technologies such as interactive radio instruction in an effort to provide learning opportunities for children, adults, and teachers in southern Sudan.

Credit: Farm Africa

After two decades of civil war and amid a tense truce, the world recently welcomed its newest nation, The Republic of South Sudan.  But like many of its Sub-Saharan neighbors did 50 years ago, South Sudan joins the rank of nationhood with a raft of intractable developmental  challenges– and the high expectations of 8 million people adds importance to each.

While the slate of challenges at hand are all important for sustained socio-economic development, achieving national food security will be key to the success of the nation.  It is a vital part of  national security and nationhood. But achieving self-sufficiency in food production and food security will require full transformation of the embryonic nation’s agricultural sector.

Although the sector accounts for the majority of economic activity—33% of the rural population lives on agriculture, whereas 45 % and 12 % are agro-pastoralists and fishermen respectively—the industry is stuck in a pre-industrial form. This is particularly bothersome as new nations must effectively manage their citizens’ expectations–for basic services, jobs and food–to thrive.

However, the country has been unable to provide enough food for the people of South Sudan since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. More than a fifth of the population depends on food aid, and the majority of the country’s food is imported from neighbouring countries, many of which are unstable. This doesn’t bode well for the country, and begs the question: where is the national food policy that would foster sustained food production and security? What should a national food policy for South Sudan entail?

Credit: South Sudan Forum For Public Policy

As I noted earlier, at the heart of any food policy must be the repositioning of the agricultural sector. South Sudan’s agriculture is characterized by subsistence farmers and disproportionate involvement in agriculture and forestry, compared to livestock and fisheries. There ought to be a concerted campaign to educate farmers about the importance of diversifying their crops and exploring opportunities in the livestock and fisheries sector.

This will require the bridging of the information divide.  In other words, South Sudanese farmers ought to have improved access to better extension services and information that will sensitize and inform them about markets. ICTs will be useful tools for enabling this and should therefore form a central part of the overall food security strategy for South Sudan.  However, the full incorporation of ICTs will depend on improvements in connectivity and access– mobile subscription, broadband access and total internet users are all less than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nonetheless, traditional ICTs such as radio, which is relatively ubiquitous in South Sudan, may be used as a key first step to offer extension services that tackle issues, including irrigation cycles, pest control, access to seeds,  fertilizer, transportation and prices. These services may be provided via a series of  regularly aired radio programs and features that capture the voices and interests of the farmers.  The use of traditional ICTs and other less advanced but newer technologies are likely to be more contextually relevant and appropriate, compared to high end ICTs. The latest technology is not always suitable. In the long-term, many opportunities to use the latest ICTs will mature. That is to say, they exist now, but the infrastructure in not in place to facilitate their effective implementation for the benefit of the majority.

Here are a few of the ICT opportunities:

• The provision of access to financial services via mobile money
• Improve irrigation and water management services using remote sensing technologies and GIS
• Establishment of legible rural and agricultural markets through market information systems
• Reduction of waste through proper storage and transportation facilities enabled by logistics technology
• Text and other mobile-based  extension services to create access to better agriculture and livestock  inputs

Despite the immense scope for growth in South Sudan’s agriculture sector, much depends on the development of indigenous agricultural and livestock research, animal health services, infrastructure (including roads and bridges), and the stability of the  regulatory and political environment.