EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Mobile technology has “transformed” the way UNICEF tackles poverty among children in disadvantaged parts of the world, claimed the charity’s executive director, Anthony Lake.

In the past few years, UNICEF has rolled out a number of initiatives centred on mobile services to serve disadvantaged children, mainly in Africa, with a focus on improving health, education and living conditions.

Lake told Mobile World Live that “mobile technology is now helping us reach children in a way we never could have imagined”, with the industry proving very receptive to working with the charity.

“We find the industry is coming to us, as much as we are going to them to work together,” he said. “We are all humans and everyone believes children deserve a fair chance in life – humans are hardwired to care for their children, and at the same time it is also good for the industry.”

Lake said operators were particularly interested in tackling the problem of “information poverty”, with some of the poorest children lacking the basic data that is readily accessible to people in more developed regions.

Among other developments, Lake also opened up on some new mobile-based initiatives designed to improve the lives of those in underdeveloped communities. Click here to watch.