Seventeen locations within ten (10) parishes in Jamaica can now access the internet adequately, thanks to the UNDP's initiative, 'Advancing Jamaica's Digital Response to Covid 19'. The project, implemented under the umbrella of the Rapid Finance facility, distributed a number of digital equipment and high-speed wireless access points to thousands of residents within the ten parishes. The project was also implemented with an evaluation component, which allowed project managers to gain insights into project impacts, much to the satisfaction of policymakers, project sponsor and constituents alike.
The locations in Jamaica were selected based on criteria such as areas of high population density and low or poor internet coverage. Under the initiative, residents receive a full year of free high-speed internet access.
The UNDP representative reiterated the organisation's commitment to working with Jamaica to find solutions to mitigate the root causes of the digital divide, to ensure community digital needs are met and to better situate future leaders in the country to solve present and future challenges.