ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Ministry of IT and Telecommunication and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) along with Universal Service Fund (USF), Sehat Kahani, Teletaleem and Telecommunication Development Bureau visited the ‘Gokina Smart Village’ Islamabad on Friday.

The Smart Village Gokina pilot project comes under the umbrella of Smart Villages of Pakistan, a nationwide initiative launched by the IT Ministry in 2021 together with ITU, USF and Huawei, says a press release. The official launching of the Gokina pilot took place on February 22, 2023 with the presence of Syed Aminul Haque, Federal Minister for IT and Telecom. Education- Gokina village has a high school for boys and for girls.

However, it was found that there were no science teachers, particularly in girls’ schools, which creates hurdles for students in getting benefits both, in terms of learning as well as competing for the future professional opportunities that science subject’s offer at national and international levels.

The project has identified an e-education provider (Tele-Taleem) to bridge this gap. Health – There is a medical center in the village with limited to no medical services available. The health worker is responsible to provide very basic health advice and services to the community members.

It was also highlighted that the biggest challenge in getting access to health services is time consuming as it involves commuting to Islamabad, no emergency services, no doctors and absence of pharmacy etc.

The project has identified an e-health provider (Sehat Kahani) to bridge this gap. Delegation of MoITT and ITU together with USF, Sehat Kahani and Teletaleem visited the clinic and school and they had direct interactions with the community members, particularly the school girls.

In Gokina Smart Village, e-Learning and e-health services were introduced with community. In her visit to Gokina Smart Village, Atsuko Okuda, Regional Director of ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific expressed appreciation to all partners.

Addressing on the occasion, Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) of ITU stated that “The Smart Villages Initiative will digitally transform remote and rural communities in Pakistan by connecting them with digital services and improve their wellbeing and livelihoods with tech.

We at ITU, in the Telecommunication Development Bureau, are proud to see this Initiative which started in Niger scaling up to accelerate inclusive digital transformation of rural villages across the world.”