INTERVIEW: Collaborations between operators and governments can provide opportunities to make significant progress towards eliminating world poverty by 2030, CEO and president of the UN Foundation Kathy Calvin (pictured) told Mobile World Live.

In an interview at the recent Mobile World Congress, Calvin said data produced by the use of telecommunications equipment can provide authorities with information capable of highlighting the progress being made and drive change, but – as with many mobile for good initiatives – this is reliant on partnerships.

She added governments needed to communicate with operators to highlight what data they would need to “make better policies” and track the progress being made in key areas.

“If we get to 2030 without having eliminated poverty in the worst places and improved the chances of prosperity in other places, we’ll have missed something,” Calvin said.

She noted technology can play a role in each of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and praised the work, and attention, placed on the initiative by the mobile industry.

To watch the interview in full, which highlights some of the main challenges of universal connectivity and issues with gaining true equality in the technology sector, click here.