Title: PROMOTING THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO MEET THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS CONTAINED IN THE M
1PROMOTING 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
2Sustainable Development Policy Frameworks
- Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
- New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD)
- National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS)
April 2001
3Millennium 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
4The 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.
6Ghana 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
7Priority 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
8ST 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
9ST 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.
16SPECIFIC 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.
19Objectives 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
21DEVELOPMENT 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
28INFORMATION 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)
32NEPAD 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.
34CONCLUDING 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)