Understanding e-resilience for pandemic recovery in Asia and the Pacific

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) released a new paper that posits a basic overview of the policy responses in support of information and communication technology (ICT) for development. The paper focuses on the use of technology in the region under the framework of e-resilience and inclusive broadband which are two key pillars of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (AP-IS). The main target group of the paper is government officials who are responsible for the formulation and implementation of national policies and programmes pertinent to ICT, transport, energy infrastructure development, emergency situations, and sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the region. The paper underlines the importance of a resilient ICT infrastructure hinging on ICT for its own resilience and ICT for societal resilience, which are interdependent and are especially critical in times of crisis. To this aim, strengthened ICT infrastructure and improved access to the Internet would ease the response and societal resilience to the possible future crises, such as COVID-19 pandemic, and ensure the post-crisis recovery phase.