By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Digital resilience must
become a central component of efforts to close global digital divides, with
countries needing infrastructure capable of protecting essential services and
recovering from disruptions, according to Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)
Founding Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya.
AlYahya made the remarks
during a Digital Cooperation Day breakfast roundtable held on the margins of
the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York. The session was
hosted by the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies
(ODET) and UN Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Gill.
She said closing digital
divides requires more than expanding connectivity, arguing that countries also
need resilient digital foundations capable of sustaining essential civilian
services and supporting recovery when critical systems are disrupted.
AlYahya highlighted the
physical infrastructure underpinning the global digital economy, noting that
more than 95% of international data exchange travels through submarine cables.
She warned that failures
affecting one part of the digital infrastructure ecosystem can trigger wider
disruptions across essential services. A power failure, for instance, can
result in communications outages, while communications disruptions can affect payment
systems and healthcare services.
Such interruptions can also
prevent emergency alerts and other essential services from reaching populations
when they are needed most.
Against this backdrop,
AlYahya called for digital infrastructure to be treated as a shared global
commons, requiring coordinated responsibility among governments, technology
companies, financial institutions and international organisations.
She also stressed that
efforts to strengthen digital resilience should not create another form of
digital inequality, particularly if countries with fewer resources are unable
to invest in the infrastructure required to withstand disruptions.
As global leaders and
stakeholders gather for UNGA81, AlYahya said preparedness should be addressed
before disruptions occur rather than after they happen.
She emphasised that
expanding access to digital technologies remains important, but said access
alone is insufficient if the digital foundations supporting economies and
essential services cannot withstand and recover from disruption.
