The Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, in collaboration with the Cybersecurity Authority and other stakeholders, has jointly launched National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an annual campaign held in October that focuses on raising awareness of the importance of cybersecurity.
This year’s theme is “Combating Misinformation and Disinformation in a Digitally Resilient Democracy: Our Collective Responsibility.”
Speaking at the launch on September 1, 2024, the Minister for Communications and Digitization, Honourable Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in emphasizing the importance of mobile connectivity to the country, announced the introduction of the rural telephony network and reiterated the ministry’s commitment to rolling out a nationwide 4G and 5G network.
She added that her office will collaborate with private network operators to improve access to digital network services and subsidize the fees and charges of these services.
“We are rolling out the rural telephony network. It is not completed yet, but we are in the process of rolling it out and we have worked with the service providers, as I indicated in my last address to you, to roll out a nationwide 4G and 5G network to extend high-speed broadband connectivity to the entire country, not waiting on the rollout programs of the various private network operators but working with them to put in place a shared neutral infrastructure to extend high-speed connectivity to the entire country, to enable us to improve access to digital networks, applications, and services, and work with them to also reduce the cost of accessing these networks.”
Honourable Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in recounting the achievements Ghana has achieved in the digital space, stated that the country’s internet access rate as of January 2024 stood at 24.6 million, representing 69.8% of the total population.
“Now, the successes we have chalked are not just anecdotal, but the Group Special Mobile Association, the GSMA connectivity index, has also recognized the strides that we have made, and Ghana now ranks third in Africa, with an impressive index score of 55.1%, an improvement on the 52.5% we chalked in 2022.”
“The report also highlights Ghana’s score of 86.7% in online security, which is a key dimension of the index, and this is also consistent with a country’s score on the ITU’s global cybersecurity index, the ITU being the International Telecommunications Union. Ghana’s Internet access rate as of January 2024 stood at 24.6 million, representing 69.8% of the population.”
She added that Ghana is home to almost seven million social media users, giving the country the position of having one of the most active social media users in Africa.
“Datareportal also reports that Ghana is home to 7.4 million social media users in January 2024, equating to 21.5% of the total population. We are one of the most active social media users on the continent, and so that also exposes us to the dangers out there.”
Story by: Alexander Kuuku Osei-Baidoo | univers.ug.edu.gh
