The start of a new 'science diplomacy' with Africa?
Africa is tired of hand-outs from the West that take it nowhere, and is instead looking for support to help strengthen its research base so that science can be used to spearhead development, according to Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) and science and technology division at the United Nation's Economic Commission for Africa. What can be done in Europe to strengthen 'Science with Africa' was the topic of conversation at a working lunch bringing together MEPs with representatives from embassies, industry, the European Commission and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on 26 June. The lunch was sponsored by Polish MEP Jerzy Buzek. Ideas included the establishment of offices in Brussels and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), closer links between technology and development policy-makers, and support for the building of infrastructure. Ideas will be discussed in more detail at a conference in Addis Ababa in March 2008. Guest of honour Ms Opoku-Mensah told CORDIS News that prior to this initiative, she had regarded European initiatives to increase science collaboration with Africa as 'few and far between'. Europe's links with North Africa are closer than those with Sub-Saharan Africa, possibly because North Africa has more established universities. 'The challenge now is to go into those areas that are not glamorous. These are the really important. Science's role in development is proof of that. It's necessary, but nobody wants to invest in it,' she told CORDIS News. Globally, a number of high level summits have emphasised the importance of science for Africa, including the 2005 World Millennium Summit, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the UN's Millennium Project 2005 on Innovation. But much remains to be done. Africa still suffers from perpetual brain drain - in South Africa, more than 300 specialist nurses leave the country every month; Zambia has seen its pool of doctors diminish four-fold in recent years; and 45,000 Egyptian scientists have emigrated over the last 50 years. The result is limited national systems that cannot take up technological opportunities, poor management structures, very basic infrastructure, and a lack of human resources. The problems are exacerbated by a lack of investment, which leads to poor working conditions for researchers, and under-equipped universities that must restrict their teaching to theory. The West has harmed Africa by turning a blind eye to these problems, or not providing appropriate support. In some instances, western policies have also hurt Africa. 'There is a sever constraint on access to [...] technologies because of the patent and intellectual property regime, or the lack of it. For instance, Anti-Retroviral drugs have generic equivalents that could be developed in Africa but are hampered by the patent and intellectual property regime,' said Ms Opoku-Mensah, delivering a speech that the UN Under Secretary-General, Abdoulie Janneh, had intended to give at the lunch. 'It is a fact that at the global level, a partnership based on new S&T [science and technology] to address the problems of poor people remains elusive,' continued Ms Opoku-Mensah. 'The policies of developed countries continue to deny health systems in developing countries life-saving drugs needed to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. And too little is spent on research into developing biomedical solutions to the health problems of the developing world, particularly Africa.' The solution? Increasing the flow of information between Europe and Africa, putting scientists in touch with one another, and promoting best practice, would be a start, according to Declan Kirrane, Managing Director of Intelligence in Science (ISC), the organiser of the working lunch. As CORDIS has done in Europe, offices in Brussels and Addis Ababa could serve as a helpdesk for increasing collaboration between researchers in the two regions, opening communication channels, facilitating partner searchers and providing information on what is going on in Europe and Africa. 'The office would fundamentally address the lack of information. What is missing is the answer to 'who do you call?' said Mr Kirrane. The idea won the support of Mr Buzek, who proposed that MEPs look into current provisions and initiatives to check that nothing would be duplicated. If the analysis is favourable towards the office, it could then be proposed formally at the March 2008 conference. Slovenian MEP Romana Jordan Cizelj emphasised that the EU alone cannot address the problems facing Africa, and called for the Member States to strengthen their links with African researchers. The MEP also stressed the importance of forging closer links between those working on development policy, and those focusing on technology, as well as the two separate budgets. 'The two groups think differently. We need long-term cooperation. This would help the EU as well as third countries,' she said. The theme of development was also taken up by Italian MEP Pia Locatelli. 'Part of development policy is support for infrastructure, and this can be research infrastructure,' she said. Improved African research infrastructure would reduce brain drain, she explained. Representing the European Commission's Research DG, Rudolf Meijer echoed the need for capacity-building in Africa, and said that the EU's research framework programmes can help to some extent, but should not be expected to build capacity alone. One of the new instruments introduced under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is the INCO-Net, designed to bring together policymakers and stakeholders of a given region or group of countries with the EU partners. Mr Meijer was confident that there would be an INCO-Net for Africa. Mr Meijer also spoke of the EU Mobility Portal, which gives information on opportunities in other countries and the practical side of moving to these countries. The Marie Curie scheme also funds researcher mobility, and has a mechanism to support the researcher's return to his or her home country. FP7 is open to third countries, but Mr Buzek claimed that this is not enough in the case of Africa. Special incentives are needed to encourage participation, such as a programme that supports involvement, he said. Other participants suggested introducing initiatives to develop a science culture in Africa, establishing an African-European Parliament Forum that would meet twice each year, and encouraging the transfer of knowledge in both directions, as well as within Africa. Efforts are already underway to foster closer collaboration within Africa. A small country such as Togo cannot be expected to massively increase its investment in research. But by working together with other small countries and creating clusters, smaller countries will make themselves more attractive partners for collaborative research, Ms Opoku-Mensah told CORDIS News. Mr Buzek concluded by welcoming the start of a 'new diplomacy in science', which he looks forward to developing further in Addis Ababa in March 2008.