Dr Hamadoun Touré, secretary general, International Telecommunications Union

As secretary general of the ITU, Hamadoun Touré is among the most forthright speakers on the role that the ICT sector has to play in the health of the planet and its people.

Without a CFO breathing down his neck to ensure that all recommendations make financial sense he his free to urge the industry to work harder in this increasingly important area. “We will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals in health, economy and other sectors without information technology,” he has said.

The mobile sector lacks a dedicated body to speak and lobby on not only how it can help development, but also how it can cut its own damaging emissions (the ICT sector is believed to generate between 2 and 2.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions) and Touré is taking on the task. It has to be hoped that the industry will listen.

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