Ooredoo Commits to the UN’s Sustainable Development Agenda

Ooredoo has pledged its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“Global Goals”), which aim to eradicate extreme poverty, improve the lives of people and create an all-round healthier world for tomorrow. These are ambitious targets which cannot be achieved without fully leveraging the reach and capabilities of mobile technology, especially in the least developed countries.

Building on the work started by the Millennium Development Goals, implemented 15 years ago, 193 world leaders adopted on 25th September the Global Goals, a series of 17 ambitious goals to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change for everyone by 2030.

The social impact of mobile technology is unprecedented. Driving extraordinary economic growth and new ways of delivering education, health and rural development through an interconnected world of communication and knowledge sharing, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have transformed the world during the past 15 years.

Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo commented: “The Global Goals set an ambitious agenda; one which encourages us, alongside every individual and business, to challenge ourselves in our response.  The reach of mobile technology, particularly into underserved communities, is unprecedented and we know it can help make a direct contribution to nearly all of the issues the goals address.  We are passionate about mobile technology as a tool to effect positive social and economic change.”

Shoko Noda, Resident Coordinator of UN Maldives said: “World Leaders have committed to 17 Global Goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years. Mobile technology can make a direct contribution to 15 of the 17 Global Goals, both due to its incredible reach and the ability to leverage mobile phones in achieving social good. With the important role that the Mobile sector can play in helping people achieve these Global Goals, we’re very pleased that Ooredoo has joined the taskforce that is helping Maldives to achieve these powerful goals. Ooredoo has been very active in their efforts to make a sustainable social impact, contributing to key initiatives such as Connected Women Program, Child Helpline International (CHI), Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, and we’re happy that they have renewed their commitment to social issues in the Maldives.”

Ooredoo will continue to work hard to stimulate human growth and contribute to the sustainable development of the communities it operates in. Going above and beyond to this ambitious post-2015 agenda, Ooredoo will continue to focus its efforts across its global footprint on the following areas:

Goal 3: Good health

From awareness campaigns to combat serious illnesses to healthcare apps, and specialised humanitarian and disaster response initiatives, Ooredoo offers an immediate response to some of the serious health issues being faced by people in underserved communities across our global footprint.

Goal 5: Gender Equality

The empowerment of women is a serious commitment for Ooredoo, one which sits at the heart of its corporate culture. Ooredoo’s companies are proud to take the lead in providing award-winning services for women in markets, bringing more women online, boosting national GDP and helping create fair and equal access.

Ooredoo is also a committed partner to GSMA’s Connected Women program which accelerates growth of the female digital economy, working to bring significant socio-economic benefits to all women and to the mobile ecosystem of countries such as Indonesia, Maldives and Iraq across their footprint.

Goal 9: Innovation and infrastructure

Through a range of smart solutions and initiatives which drive local innovation Ooredoo is working to close the digital divide, help everyone stay connected all of the time, and power local innovation in each of its markets.

Ooredoo has committed to offer its expertise to the people of the Maldives in their efforts to build next generation urban environments, and will continue to expand their smart city portfolio over the coming months, empowering people with smart sustainable solutions to prevalent issues across the nation.

Specific to the Maldives, Ooredoo will also be focusing on achieving the following goals:

Goal 04: Quality Education

Quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development. Major progress has been made in increasing access to education, yet bolder efforts are necessary to achieve universal education goals. Ooredoo will work to make quality education accessible for everyone in the Maldives by building on ground-breaking technologies such as Ooredoo Mobile Academy that is already making a significant impact across their footprint.

Goal 13: Climate Action

With Maldives being exceptionally vulnerable to climate change and its effects, Ooredoo Maldives aims to support the strengthening of resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.

The company will also focus on improving education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

Vikram Sinha, Ooredoo CEO said: “Our commitments is to bring about meaningful, innovative solutions to key issues being faced by the people of Maldives in their everyday life. We will also work to raise awareness of the global goals and how the community can take part in our joined efforts to achieve these important goals. Together, we can create a better tomorrow for our communities.”

As the principal driver for connectivity across the developing world, the mobile industry makes an immense contribution to digital inclusion and empowerment for all. Mobile technology can and should play an important role in achieving the Global Goals.

For more info on the Global Goals, please visit http://www.globalgoals.org/.