Many developing countries are unlikely to meet the millennium development goals (MDGs) unless they put science and technology at the centre of their development strategy, said Carlos Fortin, Officer-in-Charge of UNCTAD, on Monday. Achieving those goals will require reorienting national science, technology and innovation policies to serve the needs of development effectively and coherently. This will also depend on building a solid national science and technology base to enable the generation, utilization and diffusion of this knowledge.
Mr. Fortin was addressing the eighth session of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, which is meeting in Geneva this week. As the lead entity for technology-related issues within the UN system and secretariat of the Commission, UNCTAD has a mandate to advance understanding of the role of science, technology and innovation in trade and development and serves as a think tank on these issues, Mr. Fortin said. The organization will also strengthen its policy advisory role, with a particular focus on capacity-building for science, technology and innovation policy in Africa.
Other speakers at this week´s meeting are Nobel Laureates Richard Ernst of Switzerland and Jerome Karle of the United States; Atta-ur-Rahman, Federal Minister and Chairman of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan; Motsoahae Thabane, Minister of Communication, Science and Technology of Lesotho; Gordon Conway, Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Department of International Development; Talal Abu-Gazaleh, Chairman and CEO of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization, Bruno Lanvin, Senior Advisor on e-strategies at the World Bank; John Mugabe, Science and Technology Advisor to the New Partnership for Africa´s Development (NEPAD), and Sanjaya Lall of Oxford University.
Speakers at Monday´s meeting stressed the critical role of science and technology as the "prime lever" for development. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) in particular could potentially provide a "short cut" for poor countries to meet the MDGs. Meeting those goals would also involve promoting science education at all levels, especially for women. Centres of excellence were another key instrument in building scientific capabilities in developing countries, and particularly the poorer ones. Outstanding centres should be connected and resources pooled, speakers said. The negative impact of brain drains should be reversed and a critical mass of researchers generated who can address development challenges.
Speakers stressed the Commission´s "central role" within the UN system in ensuring that knowledge is brought to bear on solving some of the world´s most urgent problems, such as poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and environmental degradation.
The Commission was established in 1992 to help guide the future work of the United Nations in science and technology. The outcome of this week´s session will be considered by the Economic and Social Council at its forthcoming meeting. It will also serve as input to preparations for the UN Summit this September on progress made towards the MDGs.
