International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 7; April 2012 157 ICT: An Effective Tool in Human Development Kuyoro Shade O. Awodele O. Okolie Samuel O. Department of Computer Science Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo Nigeria Abstract The impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been felt in almost all sectors that are particularly important in human development. It enhances learning and fills a large gap by encouraging distant learning; it is a suitable means of distributing and accessing learning resources which in turn have great learning potential in rural areas where resources such as books and libraries are scarce but ICT infrastructure is present. ICTs offer new possibilities for improved health system, new ways of citizens’ empowerment and active participation in their societies at both social and political levels. This article aims at briefing the roles of ICT in significant areas of human development such as health, education and citizen empowerment, taking into consideration the unequally distribution of ICT infrastructure (the digital divide) both across geographic areas and within communities ICT. Keywords: digital divide, ICT, distant learning, empowerment. 1.0 Introduction Today, we are living in a world where Information Communication Technology (ICT) is being diffused into almost all spheres of human activity at an unprecedented rate. Alongside this development, is an intense debate on the contribution of this technology towards productivity and growth on the one hand; and human welfare on the other in both developed and developing countries. Internationally, the spread and appropriation of ICTs has been a key dimension of globalization, urging societies to build communications systems, manage them well; develop infrastructure and capacity to use it; and implement good policy and regulation. The World Economic Forum acknowledges the role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) as a critical enabler to sustainable socio-economic growth and also a vital ingredient for effective regional co- ordination in the creation of larger markets. Efforts to build infrastructure in the developing world, both by governments and development agencies, have predominantly focused on providing computer hardware, satellite connections and fibre-optic cabling, the Forum writes in its report on the Southern African Development Community's e-Readiness. (World Bank, 2002) The development of ICTs brought about a major shift in the world. The Information Age is a contemporary meta- narrative that guides many studies in all fields. As a theoretical space within which to conduct contemporary research, the Information Age suggests we are moving beyond the Industrial Age into an era where the sharing of knowledge and ideas is the new driver of power and the world economy. Whether one discusses the emergence of global financial systems or growing citizen solidarity networks, one thing remains common and is at the core of the new society, the solicitation and exchange of the world‟s most valuable resource: information. Defined as the new social morphology of our society, ICT is both a structure and a process that enables the exchange, the redirection, and the reception of information, on a global scale, without restraints of space or time. Distance is rendered irrelevant, allowing direct, simultaneous, decentralized, and expanding relations of collaboration, advocacy, trade, production, and innovation, generating new forms of power constellation and distribution. (Castells, 2000). As tools that allow immense exchanges of information, ICTs impact many realms. The use of Internet in the quest to promote and defend human rights, international law, and democratic governance, is well documented and is perhaps the strongest asset for civil society struggles around the world today and one of the most positive examples of the space of flows.