The NEWS (Monrovia)
Jarlawah A. Tonpo
20 November 2008
Monrovia — A three-day Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health has opened in Bamako, Mali, with the President of that country Amado Toumani Toure calling on Africans to control science and technology in this 21st centaury.
A Liberian reporter Jarlawah A. Tonpo was invited by Media 21 to participate in the conference and send his report back home from Bamako.
President Toure, in an opening session of the ongoing Global Ministerial Forum which got underway on 17 November, 2008, called on Africans to take the mantle of controlling science and technology.
He pointed out that the organization of the ongoing summit on research expresses the will to establish a culture of research for health in Africa, adding "actually, strategies of public health care in this 21st century are based on scientific evidence and Africa must control science and technology."
He said the experience of developed and emerging countries indicate that investing in scientific research and technology innovation is a way of ensuring the future in the health, political, economic, social and cultural sectors.
Convincing the delegates, he noted that despite the 19th Congress of Science Men in Africa held in Brazzaville in 1987 under the initiative of the then OAU portraying mobilization of the African Scientific Community for the development of the continent, the battle as far as health is concerned against malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, the emerging of viruses such as hemorrhagic fevers and avian flu, the outbreak of climate change, cancer, arterial hypertension and diabetes are very much challenging.
He, therefore, suggested an efficient research system to be put in place as the best approach of preventing and managing the epidemics and endemics which can hinder Africa's development.
In an effort to provide a better result for research for health, President Toure expressed his unwavering support for the construction of a building to be dedicated to research and the management of knowledge in Bamako.
For her part, Dr. Margret Chan, Director General of WHO said the Bamako call to action gives particular attention to the pressing health needs in Africa and the capacity to address these needs. "We need health research and the right kind of research now more than ever before," she stressed.
Over 650 participants including 21 Journalists around the world are in Bamako to participate in the Global Ministerial Forum on Research for Health.
Held every five year, the Forum, hosted by the Malian government, has three main objectives: Strengthening leadership for health, development and equity, engage all relevant constituencies in research and innovation for health, and increase accountability of research system.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The NEWS. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
