TECHDIGEST – Rwanda has announced plans to get 60% of all primary schools connected to the internet by 2024.

“We are connecting schools in collaboration with partners. Where there is no electricity and internet penetration, the schools are yet to be connected. We have a target to connect 60 per cent by 2024,” Director of Digital Content and Instructional Technology at Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), Diane Sengati told The New Times.

Sengati said only 20% and 57% of primary and secondary schools respectively are connected despite internet penetration which is at 66 per cent in the country.

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According to her, as schools get ICT tools such as one laptop per child and per teacher besides electricity, internet connectivity is also availed.

She said 57% of teachers have laptops across the country.

“There is still a challenge of the high cost of internet per month for schools,” she added.

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TECHDIGEST
STATEMENT: Strengthening the U.S.-Africa Partnership in Space.

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit featured the first-ever U.S.-Africa Space Forum.  The Forum reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to collaborating with African partners on the peaceful use and exploration of outer space to meet shared priorities for here on Earth.  The Forum highlighted the U.S.-Africa space partnership and cooperation to address 21st century challenges and opportunities, including responding to the climate, biodiversity, and global food crises; promoting responsible behavior in outer space; and reinforcing U.S.-African scientific and commercial space cooperation.  Participants in the Forum committed to deepening the U.S.-Africa space partnership across all sectors.

The Forum celebrated the signing of the Artemis Accords by Nigeria and Rwanda, making them the first African signatories.  The Artemis Accords are a set of principles to guide the next phase in space exploration, reinforcing and providing for important operational implementation of key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.  The Accords affirm the importance of implementing best practices and norms of responsible behavior as well as compliance with the Registration Convention and the Rescue and Return Agreement.

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Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Nigeria, while Francis Ngabo, CEO of Rwanda Space Agency, signed the Accords on behalf of Rwanda.  They were joined on the U.S. side by Assistant Secretary of State Monica Medina, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bill Nelson, and Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, Chirag Parikh.  With their signatures, 23 nations have signed the Artemis Accords.

The Forum also discussed the role of the private sector in supporting U.S.-Africa space partnership.  A number of U.S. companies have recently announced new investments in the U.S.-Africa partnership, including:

The Rwanda Space Agency and ATLAS Space Operations have partnered to bring a teleport and large satellite antenna to the global space community.

Planet Labs PBC is investing across Africa with a range of stakeholders to deliver daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions that help meet sustainability, economic, and resource management priorities, including supporting decision making on drought risk protection, forest management, and renewable energy.  Kenyan company ZEP-RE just announced that it will use Planet’s satellite imagery as it works with the World Bank on drought risk protection in the Horn of Africa.

In furtherance of Nigeria’s goal of providing all of its citizens broadband access by 2025, Nigeria announced that SpaceX’s high-speed, low latency broadband service Starlink is now available in the country, making Nigeria the first country in Africa where Starlink is available.

Zipline is drawing upon space data to expand its aerial logistics services to more government sectors in Rwanda, including the health, agriculture, finance, e-commerce and tourism divisions, and will conduct nearly two million instant deliveries across Rwanda by 2029.

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TECH DIGEST –  The government of Rwanda in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) will on Tuesday, deploy another set of robots, in a move that will strengthen the country’s fight against the pandemic, officials have said.
Under the partnership, Rwanda will receive three ‘THOR UVC’ robots which are expected to play a crucial role in Infection Prevention Control.

This is the second time the country will be deploying robots to minimise the contact between healthcare workers and persons infected with the virus.

“The new robots are cutting-edge THOR UVC robots which will help in cleaning and disinfecting treatment centres, hospitals and places of mass gathering, such as markets, offices or borders as means to limit the spread of the Covid-19”, a statement from the Ministry of Health reads in part.

THOR ultra-violet (UVC) is a high output UVC disinfection robot, which utilizes room mapping technology to deliver a fast and effective germicidal dose of continuous-wave UVC energy killing germs and pathogens.

Since March 14, when the first case of coronavirus was recorded in Rwanda, the country, just like many in the world, has been grappling with the pandemic.

The pandemic has so far claimed 223 lives, leaving 21 patients in critical condition.

Covid-19 preventive measures which mainly include physical distancing, washing hands and properly wearing masks have become part of everyday life.

To step up the measures, however, the country has rolled out various innovations to enable people to live with the virus as they go about their routine activities with relative safety.

According to experts, the virus has shown that disease does not respect geographic boundaries, but that emerging technology such as robotics will make it easier for prepared countries to combat both the Covid-19 pandemic and future pandemics.

The robots will be handed over on Tuesday, February 9 at the recently launched Nyarugenge District Hospital in Nyarugenge District.

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