doors in South Africa
10 September 2007
Cape Town - South Africa today became the first country in Africa and only
the third in the world to host a laboratory of the International Centre for
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).
South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki this morning officially opened the
third ICGEB Component at the Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular
Medicine (IIDMM) at the University of Cape Town, where the laboratory will be
housed.
The two other existing international Components are in Trieste, Italy, and
New Delhi, India.
The ICGEB is an inter-governmental organisation that operates in close
contact with the United Nations (UN) Common System as a centre for excellence
for research and training in biotechnology and genetic engineering with special
attention to the needs of the developing world.
In line with this, the immediate focus of the Cape Town Component will be on
diseases that predominate in developing countries, and in particular with a
view to study the reaction of the body's immune system to infections and
chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and various cancers.
These efforts will go a long way in supporting the global search for
breakthroughs in the understanding of these diseases and could possibly also
lead to the identification of diagnostic tools and specific drugs or
vaccines.
The decision to establish an ICGEB component in Africa was spearheaded by
the G8 governments during the 2005 Gleneagles summit, in support of an
initiative that focuses on Africa.
South Africa's Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, told
guests at the official opening in Cape Town this morning that it was his 2006
visit to the ICGEB in Trieste, Italy, that convinced him of the need to have a
similar facility in Africa.
"I knew then that an ICGEB Component in Africa will help ensure that we
build our capacity in the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology as
well as position the continent in such a way that we effectively meet our
developmental targets," said Minister Mangena.
"Furthermore, the research conducted at the Cape Town Component will enable
us to better address the disease burden of the developing world, the
agricultural challenges of poor yields, producing in difficult climatic
conditions and enhancing our post-harvest capacities, as well as the use of
biotechnology to further develop our manufacturing and industrial sectors
toward the enhancement of the quality of life of all our people," he added.
The Department of Science and Technology has already made available R10
million of the R40 million earmarked to fund the Cape Town Component of the
ICGEB.
Due to the lack of adequate infrastructure for research and development and
the shortfall in human capabilities to tackle modern science, African countries
currently do not derive full benefit from the opportunities made available by
the ICGEB
According to the ICGEB head office in Italy, the Cape Town Component will
help to break this vicious cycle and significantly enhance international
research networks by developing tailor-made programmes focused on health and
agricultural biotechnology. In addition, the Component will serve to expand the
successful formula for capacity-building which the ICGEB has experienced in
other parts of the world during the last twenty years. "The establishment of a
third component in Cape Town represents a concrete example of how the
international community can take advantage of advanced research to meet the
targets of the Millennium Development Goals, and providing the ICGEB with an
exceptional tool to fulfil its mandate" according Professor Francisco Baralle,
Director-General of the ICGEB in Trieste. Professor Baralle added that,
"Trieste, New Delhi and Cape Town are three Components of a single mission:
developing knowledge and scientific excellence, as well as their access
worldwide."
Professor Iqbal Parker, from the Medical Biochemistry Division at the
Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM) at the
University of Cape Town (UCT) was appointed Director designate of the Cape Town
ICGEB Component, pending the official endorsement by the ICGEB Board of
Governors this October.
Professor Parker will be joined by up to three other group leaders, students
and research fellows who will be appointed at the Component between now and
early next year.
The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UCT, Professor Njabulo S. Ndebele
reaffirmed UCT's commitment to the success of this project. "We are
research-led institution which has a very long history of producing pioneering
health research." Professor Ndebele added that the ICGEB will further
strengthen UCT's efforts to train top researchers and produce excellent
research which contributes to bettering the lives of the people of South Africa
and Africa.
For more information contact:
Celeste Tema
Deputy Director: Communication and Media Liaison
Tel: 012 843 6784
Cell: 083 399 0765
E-mail: celeste.tema@dst.gov.za
Kristin Klose
Director: Communication and Media Liaison
Tel: 012 843 6785
Cell: 082 902 9503
E-mail: kristin.klose@dst.gov.za
Nelvis Qekema
Ministerial Liaison
Tel: 082 571 2571
E-mail: nelvis.qekema@dst.gov.za
Decio Ripandelli
Director, Administration and External Relations
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Tel: +39 040 375 7345/+39 3356 311561
E-mail: decio@icgeb.org
Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
10 September 2007
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