Africa has all the potential to become a global hotbed of innovation
Africa's vulnerability to diseases such as Ebola, Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV must be a wakeup call to the world to collaborate with the continent in resolving these intractable problems, said Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor.
The Minister was speaking in London at the opening of a conference on higher education and science innovation in Africa. The event is being attended by the ministers of science and technology from across Africa including Senegal, Ethiopia and Uganda. It brings together over 200 people as part of the Planet Earth Institutes #scienceAfrica campaign to evaluate role of industry in scientific development.
Minister Pandor, said the continent’s disease burden should not cause it to become a subject of scrutiny by research teams outside Africa, but full participants in bringing about solutions.
"We agree that research is international and collaborative, but we want the international to mean from Africa by Africa based scientists too," the Minister told the conference organised by Planet Earth Institute, adding policy-makers were often struck by the number of "best brains" working in labs outside Africa, contributing to the innovation strengths of countries in North.
The Minister said the developed world must cooperate with Africa, to create purposeful partnerships with a well-crafted agenda of science-based initiatives, and public and development funding that adequately resources researchers and their institutions.
"The mandate for our research, development and innovation must be unequivocal - find solutions to our challenges be innovative and responsive. This call for a science active Africa is a further removal of the bonds of colonisation. Africa must free itself from the belief that someone out there cares more about our problems than we do," the Minister said.
One way to achieve this was to locate major research infrastructure in Africa to develop, attract and retain talent; establish regional cooperation in science and technology, to address policy priorities such as public health; and international partnerships should be co-owned and co-determined by all constituents.
The Minister added that a focus on inter-discipline studies, entrepreneurship and strong business partnerships would be essential for African universities to play their required role in building African knowledge-based economies.
Themed "Africa’s scientific independence: no more business as usual", the two-day conference is a highly interactive and collaborative event to explore the linkages between industry and scientific development in Africa.
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