Facebook and the United Nations will team up to bring Internet access to refugee camps, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Saturday.
Zuckerberg didn't delve into details for that specific connectivity plan, but he discussed refugee camps as part of a wider speech about the need to connect the world -- a common theme for Facebook ever since the company launched its Internet.org initiative in 2013.
"Connectivity will help refugees better access support from the aid community and maintain their links to families," Zuckerberg said in his address during the United Nations General Assembly, according to the Associated Press.
Any agency or group trying to solve challenges for new generations, the Facebook CEO argued, must put worldwide Internet access "at the heart of the global development strategy." Facebook could develop tools to help United Nations groups interpret data on those strategies and use the information to make "smarter decisions," Zuckerberg said.
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The importance of global Internet connectivity is a passion point for Zuckerberg, who with Facebook and other partners launched the Internet.org project in 2013. The initiative aims to bring connectivity to the 5 billion people globally who don't have Internet access.
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Microsoft founder Bill Gates also spoke at the General Assembly over the weekend. He announced that his philanthropic group the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with the World Bank and World Health Organization to improve performance-tracking of health-care providers in emerging countries.
