Africa needs to develop indigenous science and technology (S&T) and build a critical mass of scientists and technicians to exploit its natural resources, said UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor at a meeting on the development of S&T in Africa held in New York on 9 February.
Having a core of "relevant scientists" able to make the best choices of available technology, based on the needs of their countries and not on other criteria, is critical for the long-term economic development of the continent, he said. Citing the example of his own country -- Spain -- which depended on "other peoples' science" until it made a conscious decision to develop its own S&T, he said Africa can also do it if its decision makers decide to make the development of S&T a priority.
Photo: UN / M. Grant
Lab photo: UN
/ Ray Witlin
The UNESCO Director-General was speaking at a panel discussion which also included Mr. Nitin Desai, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Mr. Alieu Sallah, UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa, and Ms. Lalla Ben Barka, Deputy Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Mr. Mayor urged African governments to set, over the next five to eight years, a minimum target of spending 0.4% of their GNP on S&T. This would be in addition to the proposal made in Nairobi in 1995 for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to spend 3 per cent of its funding in Africa on the development of S&T. He suggested that African governments should also seek "a contribution" to S&T development from multinational companies doing business in Africa.
He pointed out that there already exist in Africa "excellent teams" in a variety of scientific fields, including biochemistry and chemistry, microbiology, oceanography and entomology. The numerous projects in Africa he cited include the 20 chairs in science that UNESCO has established at African universities and the African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions that supports regional cooperation in research and development (R&D). He also said that he would like to have UNESCO assist in setting up "at least one centre" in Africa for providing advice and assessment of patents.
Mr. Mayor said one of the greatest problems facing the development of S&T in Africa is the brain drain -- the loss of Africa's most gifted and capable scientists to developed countries. An estimated 30,000 Africans holding Ph.D. degrees are living outside the continent, he said.
He suggested courses of short duration, rather than long courses for students going to study abroad, as one way of minimizing the possibility of a brain drain.
Mr. Desai said in a message he read on behalf of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (see box, below) that the age of globalization offers a unique opportunity to reverse the course of the brain drain. Noting that the acquisition and advancement of knowledge is a more powerful weapon in a nation's arsenal than any missile or mine, he regretted, however, that the knowledge gap between the North and South is widening and "education often seems the last priority, leading too many third world students to leave for the West to acquire knowledge and education."
He said that Africa needs
to take advantage of S&T to add value to its commodities, which have
declined in price on the world markets. By helping Africa develop the necessary
knowledge and expertise, he said "we can ensure that Africa itself
will reap the benefits of its vast wealth."
"No one but Africans themselves can create the enabling environment for investment and economic growth. As the world increasingly adapts to the information age, it is clear S&T will become ever more important to every country's growth and prosperity," he added.
Mr. Desai said the people of Africa, even at village level, have already embraced a culture of S&T and there are many Africans eager to help develop their continent. S&T can change the whole psychology of development and "shift the focus from decline to an attitude of growth and expansion," he stated. "It can create a sense of self-confidence and self-respect that is vital for growth." The international system, he concluded, should provide support for "genuine development" of S&T in Africa.
Mr. Sallah stressed the importance of S&T in alleviating poverty in a continent in which 200 million people are projected to be "income poor" by 2000. "Poverty eradication must include the acquisition and development of technology that would increase the productivity and revenues of rural communities," he urged.
Noting that S&T is "vital for Africa" and plays "a pivotal role in any development process," Ms. Barka emphasized the need to strengthen Africa's human resources. ECA, she said, has helped to establish 30 research institutions, which have allowed for the training of personnel in key sectors. It is important for Africa to develop its own human resources in S&T, she said, and not be dependent on expertise from outside.
Other highlights of the meeting included the following statements:
Annan calls for more science education for more femalesNoting that the brain drain of Africa's best and brightest to the industrialized world has increased, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that if Africa is to surmount its shortfall in human resources and scientific progress, it must begin by affording girls and women "complete and comprehensive equality" in education. In the speech read by his Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social
Affairs, Mr. Nitin Desai, to the UNESCO meeting on the development of science
and technology (S&T) in Africa held in New York on 9 February, Mr. Annan
said the promotion of S&T is "a cornerstone of the kind of economic
progress that Africa needs if it is to compete in the 21st century."
From communications to biotechnology, scientific innovation is the driving
force of growth and development, he said. "And if Africa is to take
part in this progress, nothing less than a transformation in priorities
and policies is needed." Mr. Annan's remarks come against a backdrop of disturbing statistics: only an estimated 67 per cent of girls of primary school age in sub-Saharan Africa are in school, only about 23 per cent enter secondary school and less than 3 per cent continue to tertiary levels of education. "Unless we embark urgently on a programme of globalizing the generation of and access to knowledge, the unequal development of the world will only continue." Photo: UN / Paul McErlane The gender discrepancy is even greater in science and technical education, where textbooks do not relate to the daily life of girls and women, and socio-cultural biases discourage women from pursuing courses and careers in science and technology. Only a small percentage of girls enrolled in tertiary education pursue courses in S&T, ranging from as low as 3 per cent in Chad to 28 per cent in South Africa, which has a relatively better developed scientific and technological culture. No African country can afford to leave women out of these areas of education if they are to achieve a critical mass of scientists and technicians. Women not only make up 50 per cent of the population, they also play the multiple and critical roles of mothers, producers (especially in agriculture) and custodians of family health, nutrition and general well-being, and are best placed to apply the benefits of S&T in everyday life. Mr. Annan praised the significant contribution in promoting girls' education in S&T made by UNESCO, which has designated women as a priority target group. In order to promote women's education in S&T in Africa, UNESCO has provided $250,000 for a special six-year project which aims to increase girls' access to science and technical education and promote the adoption of appropriate policies. The project, started in 1996, is producing guidelines and materials for teacher training, booklets for children to demystify science, comic strips for adolescents, posters and videos, as well as setting up science camps for girls and designing hands-on science experiments for girls. UNESCO is also funding two chairs on women in S&T, one at the University of Ghana and the other at the University of Swaziland. In addition, it supported the creation in 1997 of the Helena Rubinstein Awards for Women in Science. Four prizes, worth $20,000 each, are awarded every two years to women scientists who have made their mark in medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, botany, agro-food and environmental research. The latest winner in Africa is Ms. Grace Oludanni L. Taylor of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, for her work on the metabolism of lipids. In January this year, UNESCO organized a regional forum on women, science and technology in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Over 60 specialists from 42 African countries, many of them women, attended the meeting. They drafted an action plan emphasizing the promotion of women in science and technology professions and the importance of their gaining access to science and technical education. The plan includes proposals to review textbooks so that they no longer present demeaning stereotypes of women. It also recommends scholarships and special funds for girls opting for science and technology education. |
