Friday, in Dakar, the Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Affairs officially launched the Project to Accelerate the Digital Economy in Senegal (PAENS), at a cost of 95 billion FCFA (or 150 million dollars ). Funded by the World Bank, this project primarily aims to expand access to affordable and climate-resilient broadband connectivity, as well as improve the adoption of e-government services and electronic health records.
During the launching ceremony, Minister Alioune Sall encouraged the Senegalese to support this project which, according to him, will help solve many problems related to health and digitalization. He also stressed that the many initiatives taken in recent years have not yet produced the expected results, regretting that the objective of becoming a reference in digitalization in Africa by 2025 now seems out of reach. However, he assured that the Senegalese State and all actors in the digital sector will strive to resolve these problems sustainably.
Minister of Health and Social Action Ibrahima Sy also praised the benefits of the project, including strengthening digital health infrastructure and digital platforms. He warned that any failure in these areas could affect service providers’ trust in digital technology.
The World Bank has reaffirmed its support to the Senegalese government. Jana Kunicova, World Bank Sector Director for Digital Development, said that all Bank teams will remain mobilized to support the government throughout the process, thus contributing to the country’s growth and development in the medium and long term. The project plans to provide improved access to high-speed internet to 5 million people in the Casamance and Peanut Basin regions by 2029, and to digitize medical records in 50% of health care centers.
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