Countries worldwide are navigating their way out of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, while facing the adverse effects of climate change. The world needs innovative approaches to build back better, mitigate and adapt to the biggest development challenges of our time, according to a World Bank report.

The WB said: Mindful of this need, the World Bank Group has been engaging with the governments of Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka to help increase access to and use of digital technologies and pave the way for a green, resilient, and inclusive development (GRID).

In the Maldives, the World Bank is working to understand climate change and support adaptation better. Its work in Sri Lanka is helping build more resilient public services. In Nepal, the World Bank aim to mobilize private capital to close digital access gaps in rural and mountainous regions.

Digital technologies have played a major role in the government’s response to COVID-19. It has allowed governments to continue functioning and deliver services to their people. With support from the World Bank, the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) in Sri Lanka has been leading efforts to build resilience by enhancing its government network and providing Government agencies with the digital tools and services to work remotely and deliver public services.

For example, ICTA plans to roll out a digital Forms.gov.lk solution as a new contactless solution for the public and businesses to fill and submit relevant documents to obtain public services digitally. A secure and robust government-wide email and collaboration service with video conferencing facilities is also in the works. ICTA is also enhancing the capacity of the government cloud infrastructure (LGC 2.0) to support more services, as the agency continues to shift its services online. A disaster recovery site will also be established for LGC 2.0 so that critical data is not lost in times of exogenous shocks, including natural disasters such as flooding and cyclones. These investments will help Sri Lanka build back better, ensuring that the Government is positioned to continue its operations and deliver services in the face of future shocks.

Maldives faces existential risks with climate change and rising sea levels. While engaging in global discussions on decarbonisation, it is also looking to diversify its economy beyond tourism and fisheries, while decentralising service delivery beyond the crowded capital city of Malé. For all of these, Maldives is looking at using digital tools.

Nepal had been working towards realizing its vision of a digital economy—captured in the 2019 Digital Nepal Framework—to create an engine of growth and expand service delivery across its challenging terrain. The pandemic has accelerated those plans, as the digital divides across urban and rural areas and among households at different income levels became starkly evident. For example, two-thirds of Nepal’s schoolchildren could not access remote learning during school closures, often due to limited access to devices or networks.

Looking forward from these excellent examples, we hope that a growing base of knowledge can help chart pathways out of the pandemic and its effects, while preparing for other challenges by building back better on solid digital foundations. The experiences of countries such as the sMaldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, suggest that meaningful execution of the GRID approach serves the people and their nations.