Science and innovation can help Africa thrive in coming decades, says Janneh

ECA Press Release No. 24/2009

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 01 May 2009 (ECA) - Science, knowledge and innovation can help Africa survive the global financial crisis and thrive in the coming decades, United Nations Under Secretary-General and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, said in Addis Ababa today.

In a closing remark at the end of the first session of the Committee on Development Information Science and Technology (CODIST-1), Mr. Janneh said Africa had the opportunity “to invest out of the crisis by delivering quality education, research, innovation, and addressing sustainability problems such as the enabling environment and investment in frontier science and new technologies”.

He said the ECA would continue to support African countries in the formulation of policies and programmes that foster economic sustainability and transform the lives of poor communities in the continent.

CODIST-1 was attended by more than 600 scientists, lawyers, journalists, policy-and decision from across Africa and around the world.

The meeting called on African countries to increase investment in human capital, through increased expenditure on education and R&D. It also called for the mainstreaming of geoinformation technology in global and local communities to enhance capacity in generating, managing, analyzing and communicating spatial information for better decision-making.

CODIST-1 recommended strengthening of the use of ICT in socio-economic sectors, particularly in spreading a digital culture for a knowledge society and promotion of an enabling environment for the development of a science and technology information system in Africa that can enhance private partnerships and accelerate economic growth.

 The meeting called on ECA to assist African countries in the design and implementation of science, technology and innovation policies that are cross-cutting, integrated and create a structural base for the other policies in the health, education, economic and industrial-development sectors.

It also called on the Commission to support the development of a repository of African research centers and experts; assist African countries in the formulation of a legal and regulatory framework for geoinformation and help member States to integrate intellectual property rights in business strategy
 
The four-day statutory meeting of the ECA was organized in collaboration with L’Organisation International e de la Franccophonie, UNCTAD, OSISA, with the support of the Government of Finland.

CODIST is one of seven subsidiary bodies of ECA composed of senior officials and experts from member states who meet on a biennial basis. Its role is to review challenges and issues, formulate policy and strategies to address these challenges, and determine priorities to be reflected in the work programme of the ICT, Science and Technology Division (ISTD) of ECA.

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