Communication Minister Salima Bah Urges Global Standards on Digital Public Infrastructure at UNGA81
Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation Salima Monorma Bah has called for the adoption of universal global standards as countries develop digital public infrastructure (DPI), warning that digital systems can either expand access to public services or deepen exclusion if adequate safeguards are not put in place.
Minister Bah made the statement on Wednesday while speaking at the high-level plenary, “From Commitment to Ownership: Advancing DPI with Safeguards,” held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The session was co-led by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with Co-Develop and the Center for Financial Inclusion.
“We are not inventing these challenges. They are global challenges, and it is essential that we follow universal global standards as we think through them,” Minister Bah said.
She explained that digital public infrastructure provides the foundational systems that allow key public services and institutions to operate digitally, including digital identity, payments and the exchange of data between institutions.
According to the Minister, properly designed digital infrastructure can improve access to essential services, particularly for people who have previously been underserved or excluded from formal systems. However, she warned that poorly designed systems could also reproduce exclusion on a wider scale.
Minister Bah said Sierra Leone is developing its digital public infrastructure with safeguards incorporated into the design process rather than being introduced after systems have been established.
She noted that the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation, in collaboration with UNICEF, recently brought together representatives from 16 government ministries, financial institutions, academia and civil society to examine how digital systems interact with citizens at different stages of their lives.
The exercise examined digital services ranging from birth registration to employment, while also identifying potential risks and the safeguards required to address them.
The Minister said the discussions at the plenary focused on moving from commitments to concrete national ownership, with participating countries and development partners announcing new commitments and supporting the use of a public tracker to monitor progress.
She said Sierra Leone participated in the discussions with digital governance work already underway and expressed support for the Universal DPI Safeguards Framework as a standard for developing secure and inclusive digital public infrastructure.
The Minister’s remarks reflect Sierra Leone’s ongoing efforts to ensure that digital transformation is accompanied by safeguards capable of protecting citizens while improving access to public and financial services.