COVID-19 has intensified the digital divide

Sep 24, 2020

Irma Huaman poses for a photo in her grocery store in Gosen City, a slum in the Villa Maria del Triunfo municipality on the outskirts of Lima March 18, 2014. Huaman arrived in Gosen City 12 years ago when it was just a settlement. She initially worked as a street vendor, until she acquired a loan to build her own store. A number of residents in Gosen City, a slum that grew up near a garbage dump on the outskirts of Lima, have seen their lives improve as parts of Peru feel the effects of years of economic growth. Peru's President Ollanta Humala has pledged to cut poverty to 15 percent by the end of his term in July 2016. He is still a long way from his goal, but the poverty rate is coming down, falling just under two percentage points to 23.9 percent in 2013 from the prior year. Picture taken March 18, 2014. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo (PERU - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS SOCIETY POVERTY EMPLOYMENT)ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 07 OF 15 FOR PACKAGE 'LIVING THE PERUVIAN DREAM'TO FIND ALL IMAGES SEARCH 'BAZO GOSEN' - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS SOCIETY POVERTY EMPLOYMENT) - GM1EA6C0KKL01

Small retailers are a key source of economic support in communities. Image: REUTERS/Mariana Bazo

Carlos Brito

Chief Executive Officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV

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