Jeffrey Sachs

My colleagues and I took a stand in our work several years ago that we would not look for the magic bullet, because there is none. These are just basic problems requiring basic work. Nothing magic about it.

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The digital revolution has already put wind in the sails of development, most notably as mobile phones have ended the isolation of billions of people living in rural areas that are now connected by telephony.

The MDGs involve every aspect of life in poor communities: income poverty, hunger, education, children’s health, safe childbirth, disease control, and environmental safety.

Mobile telephony and broadband access (whether through wireless or fibre or a combination of the two), can contribute meaningfully to every single MDG. The gains are breathtaking in promoting livelihoods, improved health, better schools, and other areas.

In the Millennium Villages in Africa, the advent of mobile telephony (brought to very distant communities by Ericsson and local mobile providers as part of their commitment to the MDGs) has changed life dramatically.

The village is suddenly connected to the market with regular price quotes, phone-based banking, and is better able to arrange transport. The community health workers are empowered by phone-based systems to treat malaria and other diseases. The schools are connected to the web by wireless. And countless more applications are being scaled up.