Digital Futures: Empowering Communities through Digital Transformation

In an age where technology shapes nearly every aspect of daily life, digital connectivity can no longer be a privilege. It must be an essential pathway to long-term sustainable development. When harnessed effectively, digital technology and infrastructure can help advance the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, the just-released annual report of the United Nations Secretary-General on the work of the Organization, highlights that “The United Nations E-Government Survey 2024 highlighted the need to rapidly accelerate the digital transformation as an enabler of equitable and sustainable development.” 

At last year’s Summit of the Future, countries adopted the Global Digital Compact as part of the Pact of the Future. Aimed at guiding digital cooperation and helping ensure that technological change supports human well-being, rights, and sustainable development, the Compact offers an opportunity for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate constructively for an inclusive digital future.

Rather than starting from scratch, the Compact builds on years of dialogue and initiatives, weaving them into a common vision that ensures digital transformation serves people and planet. Through its work with UN agencies and the Resident Coordinators, the Joint SDG Fund has been responding to this call with efforts for digital transformation across the world, shaping interlinked policies and channeling investments to country-led initiatives.

Here are snapshots from across the world where digital transformation is shifting sectors and uplifting communities:

Promoting Justice: Senegal

In Dakar and its suburbs, anyone seeking justice would no longer have to wait months to file documents and have their cases heard in a crowded courthouse. Leveraging the Joint SDG Fund, Senegal is piloting a first-of-its-kind e-justice system, pooling in the expertise of four UN agencies –  ITU, UNDP, UNOPS and UN Women. This system aims to ensure faster and more transparent access to justice. Once it is in place, citizens will be able to request judicial documents, pay fees and track their cases electronically. This innovation reduces barriers for marginalised members of the community, including women, and sets the stage for wider legal reforms across the country.

Boosting Local Economies: Costa Rica 

In Costa Rica, digital transformation is a story of local resilience and women’s leadership. Across the cantons of Atenas, Palmares and Sarchí, women are driving community innovation labs that combine technology with entrepreneurship and upskilling, boosting their economic security while reshaping local economies. Supported by UNDP, UN-Habitat and UN Women, this initiative uses innovation and women’s leadership through the labs to drive community participation, shape municipal policies and manage budgets. Enterprises emerging from the labs bring local solutions for challenges in the community and in Sarchí, this has even resulted in the development of a Gender Equality policy. The result is not only stronger businesses but more inclusive societies where digital progress translates into shared prosperity. 

Improving Health: El Salvador and Kyrgyzstan 

Health is another area where digital tools are rewriting the rules. In El Salvador, four UN entities, namely UNFPA, UNICEF, ITU and WHO, are working together with the Government and partners to bring digital health solutions to marginalised communities in remote locations living with chronic non-communicable diseases. This initiative has helped strengthen the health system, connecting patients with doctors, improving maternal health, and strengthening early disease detection. Telehealth tools such as a new digital family health record and smart dashboards for health indicators, and greater skill-building among healthcare workers, are improving decision-making and ensuring more people receive timely and effective care. 

In the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, telemedicine is also transforming access to health care. For the first time, people in remote villages in the Jalalabad region can consult doctors without travelling long distances. With telehealth capabilities and tools, doctors and nurses can diagnose patients, request consults, and record health outcomes more efficiently. This pilot telehealth initiative is now being expanded thanks to the collective support of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO to reach communities in 10 such remote areas.

Driving Jobs and Entrepreneurship: Kenya 

Kenya is proving how digital transformation can drive jobs and entrepreneurship. Through the DigiKen programme, policymakers and youth leaders are being equipped to promote digital inclusion across the country, opening opportunities for thriving businesses and resilient communities. 

Young Kenyans are taking the lead through digital innovation hubs to solve pressing challenges in their towns and villages, from improving agriculture to enhancing community services. With the right skills, resources, and pooling in the joint expertise from UNCDF, UNEP, UNESCO, and UN Women, the initiative is nurturing a new generation of digital entrepreneurs who can access decent green jobs. The innovation hubs help promote digital literacy and sustainable AI technologies and provide entrepreneurship training, ensuring that the digital transformation is both sustainable and inclusive of human rights.  

Strengthening Public Services: Mongolia and Tonga 

One of the most impactful areas for digital transformation is connecting a government to its people through stronger public services. In Mongolia, the “e-Mongolia” initiative has expanded access to public services online, reducing red tape and corruption while saving citizens time and money. Implemented in the provinces of Darkhan-Uul, Dornod, Khentii and underserved areas of Ulaanbaatar, along with the support of UNDP and UNICEF, has helped expand digital public infrastructure, drive digital inclusion and take digital literacy straight to communities. Mobile KhurDan units helped thousands of citizens access government services, and both citizens and civil servants were equipped with essential digital skills. This has gained community ownership and is a model for scaling up in other provinces.

Similarly, in the island of Tonga, digital innovation is helping communities strengthen resilience and service delivery, even amid geographic isolation. In Hunga, one of the remote islands in Tonga, a new Digital Hub, supported by ITU and UNOPS, is bringing reliable high-speed broadband internet, new equipment, new skills and digital literacy to the community. As a result of this community-based platform, the primary schools on the island have transformed the way teaching takes place, with the help of online learning and resources. Citizens now have access to e-banking to access their remittances, and entrepreneurs and artisans now have greater access to markets.

The stakes are clear: digital transformation can either widen divides or bridge them. The difference lies in whether governments, communities, and international partners choose to invest in inclusive, rights-based, and people-centred solutions behind that digital transformation and infrastructure. If done right, this can become one of the most powerful accelerators of sustainable development at scale.

As the world gathers for the UN General Assembly next week, progress on the Global Digital Compact will be a top priority. The choice is not about whether to go digital, but how it can shape a digital future that delivers for everyone everywhere.