Extending ICT benefits to all ICTs can only serve as effective tools of broad-based development, poverty reduction and opportunity for all, if people in every corner of developing countries—and at all levels of society—have reliable and affordable access to them. Broadening the reach and affordability of these technologies and services is a complex and difficult challenge for many developing countries, requiring substantial investments that are often unaffordable for the public sector and unattractive to the private sector. Go to Access to ICT

ICT Devices:  Hope or Hype? The development community is once again experiencing an explosion of interest in providing low-cost computing devices—laptops, mobile phones, and PDAs—to consumers in developing countries.  infoDev is helping its partners and clients answer the pertinent questions: Who is doing what, and what are the related issues, concerns and challenges? Go to Devices

ICTs and Education For All infoDev is developing an integrated curriculum of briefing sheets, handbooks, toolkits, case studies, best practice and lessons learned, and is sponsoring related training activities focusing on the appropriate use of ICTs in education to help developing countries meet the internationally-supported Millennium Development Goals. Go to Education

ICTs and effective, accountable, participatory governance Among the many promises of the digital revolution is its potential to empower individuals and communities and make governments more efficient, transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of their citizens. In this section, infoDev provides an Introduction to E-Government and related material, to assist developing countries and their partners in the international development community to better understand the power of ICTs for these purposes. Go to Governance

ICTs and the health sector 
Improving the health of individuals and communities, and strengthening health systems, disease detection and prevention are crucial to development and poverty reduction. ICT has the potential to impact almost every aspect of the health sector. In public health, information management and communication processes are pivotal, and are facilitated or limited by available ICT. Go to Health

Promoting ICT-enabled entrepreneurship in developing countries  infoDev supports a growing network of more than 130 business incubators in over 70 countries that groups over 8,900 enterprises and over 100,000 entrepreneurs. More information about the network - including a Directory with over 140 profiles, an Incubator Toolkit, Success Stories and ICT Tools - can be found at www.idisc.net. Go to Innovation & Entrepreneurship

What works?  What doesn't?  How do we know?  Initiatives using ICTs for development (ICT4D) have proliferated, with a corresponding increase in resources devoted to them, in the hope that ICTs can help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals. Yet rigorous, field-tested knowledge about ICT4D issues, and a deeper understanding of the enabling conditions and success factors in ICT4D initiatives, have been relatively scarce. Go to Monitoring & Evaluation

Reducing poverty through ICTs Even the poorest people have information and communication needs. Reducing the number of individuals and families living in poverty is a fundamental goal of the international development community. Yet it is a goal that has proved elusive in many countries.  ICTs, properly adapted, can help enhance the livelihoods of the poor in numerous ways. Go to Rural Livelihoods