Ericsson CEO’s UN General Assembly speech

Carl-Henric Svanberg's speech:

Good afternoon your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. 

It is my honor to be here today as a representative of the private sector, at this very important High-Level Event dedicated to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

Today marks the halfway point in realizing the MDGs. I was moved last night by the speeches at the kick-off event. Someone asked if the glass, at this midway point, is half full or half empty? Some speakers noted the commendable progress in the fight against malaria, while others reminded us of the enormous work still to be done in eradicating poverty.

I believe that yesterday marked an important milestone. At the first UN private-sector event dedicated to the MDGs, a number of concrete recommendations and commitments were made by business, civil society, governments and the UN. I believe that only together can we reach our desired goals.

I would like to make a few remarks about the role of technology, and mobile communications in particular. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the greatest champions of the MDGs, says that the single most important tool in the fight against poverty is the mobile phone.

Today there are more than 3.7 billion mobile subscriptions around the world. In a few years we will pass 5 billion. Ninety percent of new growth will come from emerging economies.

Access to mobile communication is not only transforming lives, but it is breaking down barriers of isolation between people and cultures, one of the key defining aspects of poverty.  It is also proven that increased mobile penetration accelerates Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Ericsson is present in over 170 countries, and we see everywhere that mobile communication is making a meaningful difference in people’s lives, and is key to bridging the digital divide.

If we cannot provide communication for all we will leave many people hopelessly behind.

I will highlight a few examples pertaining to health and education, especially pertaining to the Millennium Villages where we are committed to bringing voice and internet communication to half a million people in sub-Sahara:

• In Dertu, Kenya, a remote nomadic Millennium Village on the border of Somalia, we installed a mobile network and brought internet to the school for the first time, and within two minutes of the network going live, the school teacher had Google up on the screen.
• In Rwanda, it is a difference between life and death, where emergency medical services and a toll-free number mean that villagers no longer need to walk 13 kilometers to the nearest health facility.
• Mobile learning is making it possible to train community health workers remotely, and applications enable the collection of vital health statistics including birth and death registration.
• In India and Bangladesh, we are running a telemedicine pilot in 18 villages, together with Apollo, a large hospital operator. It has shown that even people with an average income of one dollar per day can get access to medical care.  We are currently working to scale up this project to some 200,000 villages over the next three to five years.

Ericsson’s founding principle, over 100 years ago, is that communication is a basic human need. Mobile connectivity is an enabler, not only of basic voice communication, but is the foundation for bringing health, education, small business development and security to communities that have the least.

Governments should stimulate and embrace the use and deployment of mobile broadband services, to the benefit of citizens, enterprises and public agencies. The strong support of government is needed  to create an open deregulated telecommunications market with clear game rules. This will attract long term investment and ultimately make end-user devices more affordable, and the benefits of communications available to the masses.

I would like to conclude by stating that our commitment to the MDGs is not about charity, but rather about realizing what our core business can bring to humanity. We are committed to use our technology to bring even more progress to the achievement of the MDGs. From this perspective we see a glass that is half full.

Thank you.

The UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly are convening a High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals at UN Headquarters in New York on September 25, 2008.

At the halfway point towards the target date, significant progress has been made, but urgent and increased efforts are needed by all stakeholders in order to meet the Goals by 2015. The High-level Event is a forum for world leaders to review progress, identify gaps, and commit to concrete efforts, resources and mechanisms to bridge the gaps.