16 Jan 2010

Haiti quake shows need to close technology gap for developing nations

The United Nations has a vital role to play in helping Member States, particularly those in the developing world, to utilize new technologies to mitigate natural disasters, climate change, food shortages and a host of other challenges, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“The UN is the lead global institution dealing with many of these challenges,” he told the Global Colloquium of University Presidents on New Technologies for Meeting Global Challenges at Yale University in the United States, on 15 January, citing the devastating earthquake in Haiti as a prime example of the need to close the technology gap between developing and developed countries.
“We have technologies to build safe buildings and to build infrastructures that take into account possible fault lines. We know a great deal about how to work with the natural landscape to ensure that urban settlements are more secure. The problem is that so many parts of the world are not benefiting from this knowledge and these technologies. Disaster risk reduction measures must not be a luxury that only some States can afford.”