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PROMOTING THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO MEET THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS CONTAINED IN THE M

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Title: PROMOTING THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO MEET THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS CONTAINED IN THE M


1
PROMOTING THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY TO MEET THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
CONTAINED IN THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION GHANAS
ROAD MAP
  • Cobbinah, J. R.
  • (Ghanas Representative, UNCSTD)
  • VENUE Tunis, Tunisia
  • DATE 28-31 October 2003

2
Sustainable Development Policy Frameworks
  • Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
  • New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD)
  • National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS)
    April 2001

3
Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
  • A coordinated development strategy adopted by 189
    members states of UN and cover issues needed for
    human development at global and national levels.
  • Goals
  • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
  • Achieve universal primary education
  • Promote gender equality
  • Reduce child mortality
  • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and others
  • Ensure environmental sustainability
  • Develop global partnership for development

4
The New Partnership for African Development
(NEPAD)
  • A pledge by Africa leaders based on shared vision
    to eradicate poverty.
  •  
  • NEPAD Goals
  •  
  • Reduce poverty by half by 2015
  • Universal primary education by 2015
  • Progress towards gender equality
  • Reduce child mortality by 2/3 by 2015
  • Reduce maternal mortality by ¾ by 2015

5
  • National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS)
  •  
  • Prepared by member countries in collaboration
    with WB, IMF and civil society. Provide the basis
    for concessional lending, debt relief and HIPC
    initiative.

6
Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS)
  • Aims at reduction of poverty and general
    improvement in the welfare of Ghanaians.
  •  
  • Goals
  •  
  • Reduce incidence of poverty
  • Develop human resources
  • Reduce gender and geographical disparities
  • A healthier population
  • Improve water and sanitation
  • Ensure food security

7
Priority Programmes for MDG, NEPAD GPRS
  • Infrastructure development (especially in ST,
    ICTs, Energy)
  • Human resource development including education
    and reversing brain drain
  • Health (communicable disease HIV/AIDS, malaria,
    TB)
  • Agriculture
  • Water and sanitation

8
ST AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  • The key to development is knowledge
  • ST is generally recognized as the key element in
    development and crucial for improving
    competitiveness
  • There is a growing recognition that prospects for
    poverty eradication will remain dim until the
    majority of Africans start to use technology in
    their daily lives
  • ST therefore will be the driving force for the
    attainment of MDG, NEPAD, NPRS

9
ST Development in Ghana
  • 1958 National Research Council set up after
  • independence to coordinate ST
  • activities.
  •  
  • 1962 Ghana Academy of Sciences took over
  • the role NRC.
  •  
  • 1968 The Council for Scientific and
    Industrial
  • Research (CSIR) established and
  • Director-General of CSIR became the
  • official government Adviser on ST.

10
  • The ST system in Ghana
  • ST Foundation Institutions (Basic, Secondary,
    Technical)
  • ST Tertiary Institutions (Universities,
    Polytechnics)
  • Research Institutions (17)
  • Technology Transfer Institutions
  • Promotion Bodies
  • Standard and Regulatory Bodies

11
(No Transcript)
12
  • ST Policy Development Process in Ghana
  • Before 1981 ST policy objectives and strategies
    were captured in general national development
    plans (1960-1980)
  • 1981 Ghana Technological plan was shelved
    following change in government in 1982
  • 1992 ST policy statement embodied in National
    Development Plan
  • 1995 - Long term Development Plan (Vision 2020)
    recognized ST as a tool for socio-economic
    development
  • 2000 National ST policy framework finalized

13
  • Key objectives of Ghanas ST policy-
  • Develop and expand ST infrastructure
  • Promote ST capacity building
  • Establish mechanism for the finance and
    management of ST
  • Promote the participation of women in ST
  • Strengthen IPR
  • Promote information society
  • Promote local and international cooperation and
    linkages
  • Ensure environmental sustainability

14
  • Sector specific policies, programmes and
    strategies drawn for-
  •  
  • Health
  • Agriculture
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Energy
  • Industry and commerce
  • Emerging Technologies-
  • - ICTs
  • - Biotechnology

15
  • Cross-cutting short term objectives
  • Restructuring the National ST Advisory System
  • Human resource and infrastructure development
  • Mastery, application and transfer of known
    technologies
  • Financing of ST
  • Acquisition and deployment of emerging
    technologies (eg. ICTs and Biotechnology) to
    accelerate development especially in Education,
    Health, Agriculture, water and sanitation.

16
SPECIFIC POLICY INTERVENTIONS FOR SHORT TERM
OBJECTIVES
  • Restructuring of the National ST Advisory
    System
  •  
  • Place the co-ordinating institution of ST (CSIR)
    directly under the presidency
  • Institute a system of contract research to ensure
    research being carried out is relevant and cost
    effective
  • Restructure the ST system to reorientate them to
    acquire commercial hue.
  • Set up ST council with at least 40 membership
    from the private sector
  • Establish 3 sectoral Research Co-ordinating
    Committees in (i) Agriculture, Forestry and
    Fisheries (ii) Environment and Health and (iii)
    Industry, Natural and Social Sciences.

17
  • 2. Human Resource Development
  •  
  • Strengthen science education at all levels
  • 60 University, 80 Polytechnic and Vocational
    Students in science by 2020
  • GETFUND (2.5 VAT proceeds) to develop and expand
    facilities

18
  • 3. Technology transfer
  •  
  • Technology Transfer Directorate established under
    Ministry of Environment, Science Technology
    (MEST)
  • Unified extension service established under
    Ministry of Agriculture.

19
Objectives of TTC
  • Identify technological needs for national
    development
  • Assist in unpacking and repackaging technologies
    for users
  • Maintain databases of relevant technologies and
    ST professionals in Diaspora
  • Broker and evaluate technological agreements
  • Link ST institutions to industry and users

20
  • 4. Financing ST
  •  
  • National Science and Technological Foundation
    (NASTEF) launched in 1993 to raise funds from
    government and private sources to finance
    research
  • Research institutions to generate 15 of
    recurrent budget through commercialized
    activities
  • Improve competitiveness of researchers by
    upgrading grantsmanship skills
  • Establishment of venture capital (high risk)
    administering authority for the commercialization
    of new technologies
  • Institute attractive tax incentive mechanisms for
    contributors to RD funds
  • Encourage public procurement of products and
    services from ST institutions as a means of
    facilitating their promotion

21
DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUSITION OF SKILLS IN EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES
  • Poverty reduction remain a major challenge in
    Africa where over 340 million people live on less
    than a dollar a day
  • Historically technology has played a central role
    in raising living standards.
  • Agriculture and medical biotechnology hold
    tremendous promise but also bring with them new
    risks and concerns
  • ICTs can also have profound impact on the poor by
    empowering them with access to information that
    will open new opportunities for their upliftment

22
  • BIOTECHNOLOGY
  • Ghanas Biotechnology Development Programme
    instituted in 1998 is focusing on-
  •  
  • - capacity building (manpower and
  • infrastructure)
  • - policies to deal with biosafety, ethics, IPR
  • - socio-economic problems associated
    with
  • the application of biotechnology

23
  • Agriculture biotechnology can contribute to
    poverty reduction through productivity gains-
  • Engineered pests and diseases resistance crops
    could
  • eliminate need for expensive chemicals and
    reduce post
  • harvest losses.
  • Changes in crop physiology could address the
  • limitations of poor soils and harsh
    climate
  • Nutritional enhancement can address dietary
  • deficiencies and improve health of the poor
  • Early diseases diagnosis could reduce livestock
    losses.

24
  • Ghana typifies the developing country context
    being primarily agricultural country. Agriculture
    accounts for 45 GDP, contributes 60 export
    earnings and provides over 90 food needs
  • Current growth of agriculture (2.8) visa-vis
    population growth of 2.8 has serious implication
    for food security
  • Therefore agriculture biotechnology development
    is an obvious first priority.

25
  • Ghana biotechnology Development Programme
    selected the following stable food and cash crops
    for special attention - maize, cassava, yam ,
    Plantain, cowpea, oil palm, rice, cotton and
    cocoa
  • In livestock the focus is on poultry, small
    ruminants, cattle and pigs
  • In aquaculture attention is being given to growth
    rates, diseases and feed of Tilapia, mudfish,
    shrimps and crabs.

26
  • In Health biotechnology tools are being used by
    Noguchi Medical Research Institute to-
  • understand the epidemiology of the vector
  • for malaria
  • diagnosis of plasmodium parasite
  • detection of chloroquine resistance
  • other communicable diseases (Buruli
  • ulcer, HIV/AIDS, parasitic diseases).

27
  • Biosafety
  • Considering the often expressed concerns on the
    safety and efficacy of biotechnology especially
    transgenic crops. Biosafety Council was
    inaugurated in 2000.
  •  
  • TOR
  • Formulation of policies, regulations and
    procedures for biosafety
  • Co-ordination of Ghanas participation in
    regional and global discussions on biosafety
  • Collaboration on subregional and regional
    initiatives on biosafety.
  • Development of human and institutional capacity
    needed for mastering and monitoring biotechnology
    activities
  • On 13 October 2003, Ghana became the 49th
    country to ratify the Catagena Protocol on
    biosafety

28
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTS)
  • ICTs are central in the effort to escape poverty
  • ICTs can provide new possibilities for
    comprehensive development
  • Improved access to information can-
  •   - increase access and impact of education
  • - increase access to health care
  • - improve government service delivery to rural
  • communities (extension services)
  • - improve earning opportunities for the poor
    (market
  • prices)
  •  
  • Ghanas ICT policy for socio-economic development
    was formally launched on October 3, 2003 at the
    newly constructed Kofi Annans Centre of
    Excellence for ICTs after 4-year consultative
    process.

29
  • The priority areas of focus (14 ICT 4AD Pillars)
    are-
  • Accelerated human resource development
  • Deployment and exploitation of ICTs in education
  • Promoting electronic government and governance
  • Developing export oriented ICT products and
    services
  • Modernising agriculture and development of
    agribusiness industry

30
  • 6. Deployment and spread of ICTs in communities
  • 7. Promotion of national health
  • 8. Rapid ICT enabling infrastructure development
  • 9. RD scientific and industrial research
    capacity development
  • 10. Promoting local and FDI drive in ICTs
  • 11. A regional business service and ICT hub
  • 12. Facilitating the development of private
    sector
  • 13. Legal, regulating and institutional framework
    provisions
  • 14. Facilitating national security and Law and
    Order

31
  • SPECIAL ICT SCHEMES
  • Schoolnet
  • Healthnet
  • Agrinet
  • Taxweb/Vatnet
  • E-commerce
  • E-gold
  • ifex
  • MAJOR CHALLENGES
  • Literacy level
  • Lo computer penetration
  • Low internet connectivity
  • High cost o internet service
  • Content (Language)

32
NEPAD ST Platforms
  • To promote cross border cooperation and
    connectivity
  • To develop and adapt information collection and
    analysis capacity to support productive
    activities
  • To generate critical mass of technology expertise
    in targeted areas that offer high growth
    potential, especially biotechnology
  • To assimilate and adapt existing technology to
    diversify manufacturing production.

33
  • Actions
  •  
  • Develop networks among existing centers of
    excellence, through internet for cross border
    staff exchanges and training programmes.
  • Work with UNESCO, FAO, and others to harness
    biotechnology in order to develop Africas rich
    biodiversity and indigenous knowledge base by
    improving agriculture productivity and developing
    pharmaceutical products.

34
CONCLUDING REMARKS
  • In spite of the acknowledgement of the role of
    ST in poverty reduction, investment in ST is
    still very low
  • Ghanas investment of 0.3 0.5 GDP is
    significantly lower than 1 proposed by the
    African Heads of States in Lagos Plan of Action
    and the 2 in the ST policy.
  • Nevertheless, ST has made significant
    contribution to poverty reduction- 
  • Agriculture (crop and livestock yields,
    nutritional enhancement)
  • Agroprocessing (reduction in post harvest
    losses)
  • Health (Disease diagnosis and control)
  • Forestry (forest management and improved
    processing
  • efficiency)
  • Human settlement (development of local building
    materials)
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