Closing the knowledge gap in support of the MDGs (Jan Teun Visscher)

Year of publication: 2003

According to the Millennium Development Goals the number of child deaths should be reduced by 66% in 2015. Here information could make a clear difference. It is not likely that children would have died if their parents would have been better informed, and would have known about simple prevention measures, such as the importance of hand washing.

Let us take another example where information can make a difference. Would a community accept a poor deal from a local contractor if they would know the real cost of a water supply system? In Bolivia local water supply systems sometimes cost 2 to 3 times as much as necessary. Would this remain the situation if information was shared properly? Would families in Kerala pay local contractors to improve their family wells if they would know that the improvement has little effect to reduce contamination?

To meet the MDGs we clearly have to step up our efforts. Information and knowledge sharing is a key element to take into account as it may make all the difference. And it is not just gender neutral information we need. Gender specific data are very important. Most gender differences are socially constructed and hence unfair differences can be adjusted to ensure a more equal sharing of burdens and benefits (Gender Water Alliance).

Knowing that baby girls have a 40% higher chance to die in India than baby boys or that more girls drop out of schools because of lack of toilet facilities makes it possible to address these issues with more urgency.

We have an important problem.  A lot of information exists, but it is NOT:

• Available at right time
• Good quality
• Gender specific
• Tailored to local problems and needs
• Shared
• Used 

When sharing information to help others improve their situation, we should remind ourselves that we deal with four types of information: the one both we and the community know, the one we know and they don’t, the one they know and we don’t and the one neither of us knows but can discover together. Hence it is crucial to initiate a knowledge dialogue to truly be able to support communities in their endeavour to improve their future.

So the production of information products in itself is not enough, we need a dialogue and we need intermediaries that can entertain this dialogue. Here is where IRC strongly supports the development of resource centres at regional and national level and in many cases these will even be needed at district level to bridge the knowledge gap, connecting the communities to the information available in the Internet and in institutions in their country and connecting the Internet community with the real world in the communities and cities in the South.

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