African countries have adopted a new strategy aimed at making internet access and smartphones more affordable as part of efforts to expand digital connectivity and drive economic growth across the continent.
The agreement, known as the 2026 Abuja Declaration on Meaningful Connectivity for Africa, was adopted at the end of the 7th Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Abuja.
Under the declaration, member states pledged to improve broadband infrastructure, lower the cost of internet services, strengthen cybersecurity and consumer protection, and promote digital literacy, particularly for women, young people, persons with disabilities, and underserved communities.
Speaking at the conference, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin urged African governments to adopt technology-neutral policies that support fibre, mobile, satellite, and community networks to improve connectivity while reducing costs.
She noted that although mobile broadband covers about 86 per cent of Africa’s population, only 36 per cent of Africans currently use the internet, with data costs remaining above global affordability targets in many countries.
The conference also elected Zambia’s Kezias Kazuba Mwale as the next ATU Secretary-General, while Nigeria assumed the chairmanship of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries for the next institutional cycle.
