6. Universal Access and Service; 7. Mainstreaming Gender and Women in ICT; 8. Access and Use for Mainstreaming ICT for Youth; 9. Access and Use for Mainstreaming Persons with Disabilities; 10. Human resource development; 11. Innovation, Research and Development; 12. Local Content Development; 13. Investment and Funding; 14. Consumer Privacy, Data Protection and Child Protection; 15. Enhancing Government Services across All Sectors. 1.3 Enabling ICT for Development (ICT4D) in Liberia ICT plays a critical role in enabling socio-economic development with positive impacts on job creation, delivery of health care, education and research, and civic participation. However, getting the most of out of these technologies requires comprehensive policies that take a multi-sectoral view of ICT1. For example, this includes the areas of education, health, finance, empowerment and social transformation, employment and social development. The Government of Liberia is therefore committed to addressing critical ICT infrastructure gaps through the use of several policy instruments and actions that make use of supply side and demand side measures. It is expected that by providing the required ICT platforms and integrated support for an ‘ICT4D strategy’, this will contribute to building a cohesive and economically independent society. 1.4 Alignment of ICT Policy and Liberia’s Socio-Economic Development Agenda In order to ensure that this policy is successful, it has been aligned with the Government’s existing development agenda – the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD). More specifically, it seeks to support the key pillars of the country’s long-term vision for socio-economic development “Liberia Rising 2030”, including economic transformation, human development, governance, and cross cutting issues (e.g., gender equality and persons with disabilities). In addition, the development of this policy was done in consultation with other line ministries so as to create alignment with key sectoral strategies. 1.5 Global, Regional, National Trends and Commitments “Everyone should have access to the Internet.” That is what 93 member states of the United Nations agreed to in September 2015, when they signed on to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which set the global development agenda for the next 15 years. With an explicit target in SDG 9c of universal and affordable access across the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by 2020, it implicitly assumes universal and affordable access - access for everyone, everywhere by 2020. Bold action will be required to achieve this and to ensure that access to ICT can be the engine of development that is expected across all SDGs. Many national and regional agreements and commitments are aligned to this global vision of universal and affordable access to all, including those among the ECOWAS countries and at the African Union level. The situation is no different in Liberia, and with this policy, the government aims to realize its commitment to becoming a leader in the use of ICT by securing universal, affordable and equal access to all citizens. 1 World Bank (2016) World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. Washington DC: World Bank 15