No one should be left offline

Exactly three years ago, I was in Melkadida, Ethiopia, with Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union.

There, we met Aden, a refugee student trying to apply for higher education. He had the talent. He had the determination. He had the ambition. What he did not have was something basic: a reliable internet connection.

Aden was relying on a scarce shared connection, hoping it would hold long enough to complete his application. That moment has stayed with me. Connectivity is not abstract. It is not a luxury. For people forced to flee, it can be the difference between a door opening and staying firmly closed.

It can be a lifeline to family, to safety, to learning, to work — and to opportunity.

At the time, UNHCR had recently launched its first Digital Strategy, with a clear vision for how technology could strengthen protection, inclusion and solutions for refugees and displaced people. But everywhere we listened, we heard the same message: digital transformation would only matter if refugees could actually access it.

That was the starting point for Connectivity for Refugees.

Later that year, at the Global Refugee Forum, UNHCR, ITU, GSMA and the Government of Luxembourg launched the initiative with a simple but ambitious goal: to advance meaningful and affordable connectivity for 20 million forcibly displaced people and host community members by 2030.

Three years on from Melkadida, we can see how far this effort has come.

Already, more than one million forcibly displaced people and host community members have been reached with new or improved access to connectivity. Across Chad, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond, partners are extending networks, strengthening digital skills and infrastructure, and opening new pathways to education and livelihoods.

That matters because connectivity is no longer just about getting online. It is access to school, work, information, financial services and participation in society. As more of life moves online, those without connectivity risk being locked out of the opportunities shaping the future. For refugees, who have already lost so much, we can’t accept nor explain that exclusion.

From the start, we deliberately included host communities. Refugees and the communities who welcome them often face the same barriers. They should benefit from the same opportunities. Connectivity builds social cohesion and local development when everyone is included.

This is why there is reason for optimism that Connectivity for Refugees is now part of UNHCR’s Innovation Accelerator. The challenge is too big for any one organization to solve alone, but too important for us not to solve together. UNHCR brings field presence, protection expertise and trust with communities. But lasting impact requires governments, regulators, technology companies, mobile network operators, development actors, investors, refugee-led organizations and communities themselves.

Last year in Chad, I saw what this can mean. The government is weaving connectivity into the country’s digital transformation agenda, reaching areas that had never before been connected, including communities hosting people displaced by conflict in neighbouring Sudan. What struck me most was not only the infrastructure, but the sense of possibility it created for communities too often left at the margins of development.

That is smart partnership in action.

ITU, GSMA and Luxembourg, with early support from Spain and Cisco, helped us turn an idea into action. Since then, the ecosystem has grown: Ericsson has supported connectivity mapping; Cisco has helped create connected spaces and strengthen digital skills; MTN is working with UNHCR across several African markets, beginning in Rwanda; and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Orange and Eutelsat are helping connect remote and underserved communities.

We are also deepening collaboration with development finance institutions and partners, including the World Bank Group. This is essential. Pilots matter, but refugees cannot build their futures on pilots alone. They need solutions embedded in national plans, commercially viable where possible, and supported by long-term investment.

In emergencies, UNHCR and partners continue to find practical ways to make things work. In Burundi, through the Refugee Emergency Telecommunications Sector, we are expanding Wi-Fi hotspots for communities who urgently need access.

For Judicael, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that connection helps him pursue his livelihood, share information and spotlight refugee-led initiatives. His story reminds us that connectivity is not only about receiving information. It is about voice, agency and leadership.

It also connects directly to High Commissioner Salih’s vision of reducing dependency on humanitarian aid by 50 per cent by 2035. If we want people to move from aid to opportunity, they need access to the systems that shape modern life. Connectivity is one of those essential enablers.

It was fitting that the High Commissioner delivered his first address to the workforce online from a connected centre established with support from Connectivity for Refugees partners — a simple reminder of how this work can build bridges and bring people together.

And refugees themselves remain central to it. Refugee-led organizations, community leaders and young innovators are helping shape and sustain solutions that serve their communities. This has never been only about connecting people. It is about listening to them, learning from them, and supporting their ideas for their own digital futures.

Much has been achieved. Much more remains to be done.

Reaching 20 million people by 2030 will require continued commitment, new partnerships and sustained investment. Three years ago in Melkadida, Aden reminded us what is at stake when a connection fails. Today, the progress made through Connectivity for Refugees reminds us what is possible when governments, communities, companies and humanitarian partners come together to make that connection real.

Together, we can build a future where refugees and host communities have the connectivity they need to learn, work, and contribute.

No one should be left offline — least of all those who have already been forced to leave so much behind.