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SCIENCE
Leading scientists, innovators and policy makers from Africa met in Kigali, Rwanda, in March of this year to think of solutions to an increasingly pressing problem: the poor quality of science on the continent. scientific discovery and innovation fuel progress, facilitate development, and address issues such as food insecurity, water scarcity and climate change. But most African governments do not fund research and development (R & D) enough.
According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, sub-Saharan African countries spend on average only 0.5% of their gross domestic product (GDP). In the West, the figure is closer to 3%.
This disparity highlights the development challenges that Africans face. Africa is home to 15% of the world's population and 5% of its GDP, but accounts for only 1.3% of total research spending. In addition, African inventors only hold 0.1% of global patents, which means that even when money is spent on science, innovation and research, the results rarely translate into solutions to the most immediate challenges of the world. continent
. some African governments are investing heavily in science-based innovation. In South Africa, for example, the authorities have committed to doubling R & D spending by 2020 to 1.5% of GDP. This follows the commitment made in 2016 by African heads of state to increase science and technology budgets to at least 1% of GDP by 2025. A handful of countries – including Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal – are working hard to reach this threshold. Africa also benefits from generous help related to research and international support. One of the major donors, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has invested more than $ 450 million in African science initiatives over the past decade. Projects include a $ 306-million program to increase crop yields and a $ 62.5-million grant to improve health outcomes. These and other sources of funding have helped African researchers develop drought-resistant crops, produce vaccines against infectious diseases like the Ebola virus and expand opportunities for scientific and technological education.
Unfortunately, many African governments have limited resources to build on these gains. A new, more collaborative approach to African science is urgently needed.
African leaders have already pooled their scientific resources. In 2003, the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development began to implement a continental strategy "to develop and use science and technology for the socio-economic transformation of the continent and its integration into the global economy ". It was an ambitious goal that yielded early results. Between 2005 and 2014, continent-wide R & D spending rose and research output more than doubled in many countries.
Since then, progress has stagnated. The meeting in Rwanda, organized by the Next Einstein Forum, was designed to put the agenda back on track. But the peaks are only part of the solution; Governments must also commit to improving the quality of research and begin by focusing attention on three key areas.
First, African leaders must speak to CEOs, philanthropists and donors who understand the long-term value of investing in science. Innovation is expensive and seed money is needed to strengthen the continent's scientific capacity.
Second, African universities and institutions should align their research programs with national and regional goals. For example, given that one of Africa's most pressing challenges is to feed its growing population, schools specializing in agricultural research should ensure that their work helps to find solutions.
One way to do this is to establish marketing boards, which could help scientists put their research into the market. Scientists all over the world need help managing a bureaucracy to turn an idea into a business venture, and this process is particularly difficult in an area where R & D pipelines are in their infancy
. difficult questions at the summit; they must also allocate more funds and forge new partnerships. To overcome the challenges of human development in Africa, African governments must invest in people who can overcome them. – © Project Syndicate
Esther Ngumbi is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a member of the World Policy Institute
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