By Sylvester Thompson

Prof. Olalekan Akinbo of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA –NEPAD), has called for the deployment of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to identify public health needs and cost effective packages of healthcare.

Akinbo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja that in most cases, ill-health could be attributed to poverty.

He said that building capacity in STI would help improve the health of citizens.

The Supervisor at Centre of Excellence in STI disclosed that over the past century, science and technology provided the basis for the largest ever aggregate improvements in human health.

Akinbo said advances in scientific knowledge and its application, helped to slow the trend of high fertility and high mortality.

He said that this would also lead to increasing better health for many people all over the world.

The supervisor said that nonetheless, vector and water borne diseases, aids inadequate pre-natal and maternal and child created tremendous burden in developing countries.

He said disease like smallpox and others like childbirth and routine infectious diseases had declined sharply.

Akinbo said that indoor air pollution, dysentery, water-borne disease such as cholera and vector-borne disease like malaria, dengue and AIDS account for millions of deaths annually.

He said these diseases were hitting hardest the countries that are least prepared and could not afford to deal with them.

“Some of these issues can be addressed using current knowledge, like dysentery while others require scientific breakthroughs in science and technology,“ he said.

In the area of agriculture, the expert said advances in STI had facilitated higher yields, greater efficiency and nutritional content in the world food supply.

He said genome editing; an emerging technology being initiated by the AU, was a typical example of an innovative technology that could be applied in agriculture for improved crop yield.

“Food production, however, must double in the coming decades to meet rising demand and meet the challenges entailed in inter alia improving resistance to drought, pests, salinity and temperature extremes.’’

Akinbo said the challenges associated with raising the nutritional content and reducing post-harvest loss, all in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner.

He said that at the same time, the regulatory challenges of assuring safety in food production and consumption would increase exponentially.

“Although, the necessary technology for increasing the agricultural output is available in many developing countries including Nigeria but certain requisites must be met’’, he said.

He said these include the will to advance economically, opportunity and organisation to use the technology, elimination of political, social and economic disasters to development.

Akinbo said it also involved the ability to first incorporate the technology into overall development and then to continue using it.

He said in the domain of food security, advances in science and technology provided the foundation for green revolution.

“Improved knowledge of plant biology and breeding techniques led to better seeds and cultivation practices that drastically increase yields,“he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

SET/JPE

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(Edited by Joseph Edeh)

By Bukola Adewumi

Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director-General, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), has solicited medical practitioners support to educate Nigerians on the safety of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).

Abdullahi made the appeal at a one-day sensitisation programme for medical practitioners in Abuja with the theme “Science, Safety and Benefits of Agricultural Biotechnology Products”.

“Nigeria is faced with challenges of rapid population growth and urbanisation hence the need to double food production by 2050. In essence, Nigeria is growing poorer, and the agricultural environment is deteriorating.

“Seed varieties perform low, are obsolete and do not correspond to the new climatic factors. There is high pressure of insect pests and diseases; soil fertility is low with lack of capital funding for investments,” he said.

Abdullahi urged the medical practitioners and other critical stakeholders to support the Federal Government’s drive in enhancing food production and availability to deepen Nigeria’s biotechnology experience.

According to him, the country requires modern technology for an increased and sustainable food production.

The D-G said it was important that medical practitioners be enlightened on the safety gauges put in place to ensure that technology deployment did not harm Nigerians and the environment.

He said that biotechnology deployment in Nigeria had yielded enormous fruits, given a number of genetically modified crops that had been successfully developed and commercialised, with a good number of others at various stages of development.

In a presentation, Dr Rose Gidado, Director, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology at NABDA, said the workshop was expected to bridge all existing information gaps between agricultural scientists and medical practitioners on activities of GMOs.

Gidado noted that scientists through biotechnology have succeeded in using living organisms and biological processes to improve life on earth.

She said that biotechnology application had become very necessary in almost all sectors of the economy, especially in the health sector where various vaccines are saving lives.

According to her, the application of biotechnology cuts across various fields ranging from medicine to industry, environment and agriculture.

Gidado said that the agriculture sector serves as the resource factor for other sectors including medicine, industry and environment.

The one-day sensitisation workshop, which was organised in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and regulators, included Programme for Biosafety Systems (PBS).

The stakeholders are: the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, Nigerian Medical Association, National Biosafety Management Agency, National Agricultural Seed Council, National Agricultural Quarantine Service, and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council. (NAN)

Edited by Chidi Opara/Ismail Abdulaziz

By Ephraims Sheyin

GetBundi Education Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of GetBundi Education Technology Limited, has committed to the online training of 500 African women in Coding.

The Coding courses, which will be at no cost to the participants, are to hold from June 1 to August 31, 2023

According to Mrs Juliet Ijei, course coordinator, GetBundi Education Technology and GetBundi Education Foundation, the Coding courses are targeted at bridging the huge gap in digital skills in Africa, particularly among women.

“This programme is particularly important coming at a time when digital skills and tools have become increasingly essential to access services such as health, education, social protection and financial services,” she said.

Tagged ‘TechSis 2023’, a reversal of the male-dominated industry known as ‘Tech Bros’, the initiative aims to bridge the digital skill gender inequality in Africa, she explained.

Ijei said that free registration for the Coding courses will start on April 24 and end on May 23, 2023 or after the first 500 women must have registered.

On the rationale behind TechSis, Ijei said it was in an effort to give women and girls a better deal in the tech industry dominated by men.

“It will also prepare them to assume their rightful place at the heights of the new economy.

“The tech industry is no doubt a male-dominated career area across the world, and Africa is no exception. Research reveals that only 30 percent of African women make up the tech industry, which signifies that they are highly under-represented,” Ijei said.

According to her, despite the overwhelming percentage of women in the African continent, available data reveals that only very few are in the digital and technology space compared to men.

“Women in the tech space make up only about 22 percent of the industry workforce in Nigeria

“Bias and stereotypes have continued to pose obstacles to women being properly represented in the technology industry.

“Women often show reluctance to take up tech-related degrees or any tech-related skills, leaving males to dominate many tech companies.

“This implies that women in sub-Saharan Africa have a high risk of missing out on the jobs of the future, with an estimated 230 million jobs in the region requiring digital skills by 2030.

“This female digital exclusion, a phenomenon where women and girls are disproportionately left behind in accessing and using digital technologies and services, is a pervasive problem hindering the realisation of a fully inclusive digital future,” she said.

“It is in an effort to bridge this digital divide that GetBundi has offered to train 500 African women, who are 18 and above, to learn Coding, a top-demand skill, for free,” Ijei said.

The free Coding training, she said, would enable the women to be well-positioned to take up well-paying jobs, thereby creating a source of income for themselves.

“Through this initiative, women and girls will get to learn programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, Scratch and Ethical Hacking.

“To ensure the effective inclusion of women in the tech sector, the TechSis initiative will be organised yearly by the GetBundi Foundation in different areas of digital skills.

“With GetBundi’s initiative to teach females Coding, it will undoubtedly impact the inclusion of more girls and women in the technology sector in Africa,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Osita Oparaugo, Founder of GetBundi Education Technology, has announced that Prof. Florence Emenalo, Director, Centre for Women and Gender Studies, Imo State University, Nigeria, would give the opening speech to kick-start the Coding skills training.

“We oppose education inequality, especially with STEM and Digital Skills, and we won’t stop until millions of African women benefit from GetBundi Education Foundation.

“This time it is Coding; by the last quarter of this year, it will be Digital Marketing targeting 1,000 women.

“The women are here, the hunger to learn is there, just the opportunity, and that is what GetBundi Education Foundation is presenting to women across Africa,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that GetBundi, a government-approved educational technology platform, has the goal to use technology to make STEM and Digital Skills learning across Africa accessible to all.

Only recently, the educational technology platform partnered the Lagos State Government to commission a STEM laboratory at Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School, Yaba, Lagos.

The laboratory is a pilot phase of an ongoing partnership between the Lagos State Government and GetBundi Education Technology. (NAN) ( www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi/Lucy Ogalue

Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and MEDIAVIVA Consultancy Limited have concluded plans to co-host the 1st African Space Economy Conference, 2023.

The President of ACCI, Dr Abubarka Al-Mujtaba, while signing the consultancy agreement with both NASRDA and
MEDIAVIVA on Thursday in Abuja, said the event would impact positively on governance and the lives of Nigerians.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference and exhibition with the theme, ‘Exploring Space Economy for Africa’s Economic Growth,’ are scheduled to hold from Oct.16 to Oct. in Abuja.

“Space economy, as an emerging sub-sector of the global space ecosystem, denotes and captures the economic benefits of a dynamic space sector and the role space can play in the socio-economic development of the society.

“This new subject is a growing field of application and practice in Europe, North America, and many parts of Asia.

`’Africa is however a late starter as the space economy is still a subject not yet fully appreciated and lacking the requisite policy framework needed for robust facilitation and regulation of the sub-sector.

“The conference is designed to address the real developmental issues in Nigeria and Africa in a way that will positively impact governance and everyone’s life,’’ Al-Mujtaba said.

He listed some sectors which the conference would address to include: Space technology and communication, internally generated revenue (IGR), Internal security, food security and health sector.

Al-Mujtaba said others are: Space technology and the growth of the Tech. Innovation ecosystem, especially in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR).

According to Al-Mujtaba, MEDIAVIVA Limited will ensure the operational and marketing aspect of the event.

He said this would help in fast-tracking the implementation of action plans for the event and further facilitate synergy with the Local Organising Committee(LOC)

On his part, the Director-General of NASRDA, Dr Halilu Shaba, said Africa needed to focus more on emerging trends in the global economy.

Shaba urged that Africa should not be left out in the global space economy which had proven to drive development worldwide.

“We are trying to avoid capital flight. The world is going to space, and Nigeria will not be the last.

“The idea of the conference is to showcase our space industry to the public, as we are focused on liberalising space science and technology.

“We are talking to people to come, people who will benefit from it, and while we stay in our labs and workshops, we are engaging people knowledgeable in the area of commerce to take it further,” he said.

Shaba added that it was time for Nigerians to have fate in space because the conference would address problems in education, security, economy, agricultural, and health sectors, among others.

Mr Israel Edjeren, Chief Executive Officer of MEDIAVIVA, pledged its commitment to ensure the exhibition showcaset he potential of the space industry and of international standard.

Similarly, Dr Matthew Adepoju, Co-Chairman of the LOC said the committee would engage the private sector to leverage the potential in the sector. (NAN)(www.nannew.ng)

Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo/Bashir Rabe Mani

The committee members with Dr Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu

By Sylvester Thompson

The Federal Government has inaugurated the National Bioethics Committee(NBC) to safeguard the dignity, rights, safety and wellbeing of citizens.

The rationale for the establishment of a National Bioethics Committee is hinged on the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and human rights.

Dr Adeleke Mamora, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), said on Tuesday in Abuja that science and technology now included arts, education, social sciences in all nexus that required ancient use of the sector for its development.

He said that with the advancement in science and technology, countries became confronted with several challenges concerning diversity of values at different place and time.

Mamora said capacities on ethical aspects in both human and environmental aspects became necessary to ensure the building of ethical grounds for policies for the smooth running of society.

“It is therefore important to note that no matter the level of development of a country, there is a need to establish the NBC, and strengthen it to deliver informed, acceptable and adaptable policies,’’ he said.

The minister said the committee would advise government, parliaments and other governmental bodies on bioethical challenges and issues raised by the progress in healthcare, biology, biomedical sciences among others.

Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said the quest to establish the NBC began 14 years ago.

He said this was when the first Bioethics Stakeholders meeting was organised in collaboration with UNESCO in Abuja, at the expression of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Mustapha said the objective of the meeting was for UNESCO to provide the government with the required information for the establishment of the NBC.

“In May 2022, the National Bioethics Framework and Policy Documents were approved by the Federal Executive Council with the directive that NABDA should commence the implementation of the policy, hence the establishment of the NBC.

“Prior to the approval of the policy documents by FEC, Nigeria has been a member state of UNESCO since 1960 and a signatory to the 2005 UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and human rights,’’ he said.

Mustapha said that Nigeria was experiencing numerous moral problems, which became imperative to establish ethical standards to guide policy decision making geared towards the attainment of the SDGs.

He said the NBC would promote ethical values of discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance, patriotism, good clinical and ethical research practices

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu said other purposes of the committee include assisting healthcare providers, hospital administrators, patients, families and the government.

He said the committee would serve as a mechanism to develop, recommend, and review broad decisions, standards, processes and procedures related to bioethical issues.

The minister said that the challenge of bioethics for government, health, bioethical institutions, citizens and stakeholders was to create value with the outcome of scientific research without violating existing moral ethical rules.

“This is a major challenge for a sector that generated more than 640 billion dollars in 2020 globally,’’ he said.

Adamu advised that Nigeria should utilise this opportunity to anticipate and identify challenges in order to mitigate them timely.

Dr Dimitri Sanga, Director, UNESCO Regional Office for West-Sahel Africa, UNESCO Regional Office in Abuja, said the NBC remained a platform for providing guidance to policy makers

He said that it was also to stimulate the increased awareness and informed debate on crucial bioethical issues.

Sanga who was represented by Regina Prisco of the Education department, reminded the members of the committee that the task ahead was serious.

Dr Chitu Princewill, Deputy Director and Head, Bioethics Unit of the NABDA, said with the inauguration of the NBC, expectation was for things to be done right.

Chitu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at least to an extent.

“If there are things Nigerians or the society were doing as a result of ignorance or absence of a watch dog, but with the NBC in place, people would have a rethink on wrong acts.

She cited the establishment of the EFCC as an example which made people to be cautious about public spending and other forms of corruption.

Chitu said the NBC looks holistically at Bioethics as applied to sectors such as agriculture, health, environment, security, education among others.

Dr Olagunju Idowu, Secretary General of Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO to the NBC, spoke on “Role of the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO to the NBC.’’

The inauguration was organised by NABDA in collaboration with the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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(Edited by Joseph Edeh)

By Funmilola Gboteku

The Founder of Eko Innovation Centre, Lagos, Mr Victor Afolabi, says  Nigeria needs homegrown cyber security solutions that understand the challenges of its local environment.

Afolabi, also the Curator of Art of Technology Lagos, made this known during the grand finale of the Secure Hack 1.0 event powered by Eko Innovation Centre on Saturday evening in Lagos.

He said that one of the major challenges of technology adoption in Nigeria was cost barrier.

The founder said that most tech people in Nigeria today had to buy laptops and smart devices which are foreign to do their jobs, adding that the devices were usually very expensive .

“Looking at the cyber security solutions, anti-viruses that we buy, many of them are paid for in Forex and the sad thing is that they are ridiculously expensive because the dollar rate keeps going up.

“This cost element increases the vulnerabilities of organisations in emerging markets like Nigeria.

“When a cyber security solution is too expensive, only few would be able to afford it and that leaves many organisations vulnerable to cyber attacks.

“How do we protect ourselves when we do not have homegrown solutions,” he said.

Afolabi said Nigerians need solutions developed here either for cyber crime or physical crime that people could pay for using Naira.

He said that the way our cyberspace would be more secured because people would be able to afford the cyber security solutions.

Afolabi said that was why the innovation centre put together hackathons like the secure hack 1.0 to encourage young talents with innovative ideas.

The founder said that when solutions are homegrown, its maintenance would be easy and one would not have to start sending messages to the manufacturer unlike when it’s imported.

He said: “Hopefully as the Nigerian tech market matures, things would get better. 20 years ago nobody was building softwares in Nigeria, but today we are beginning to see foreign people using our talents.

“They are now taking our talents abroad and paying them a lot of money to build solutions for global use,” Afolabi said.

He noted that soon banks and other organisations would start using locally-developed cyber security solutions when the market matures.

Afolabi added that one day, Nigerian talents would build solutions that would be at per with international solutions.

Speaking on the Secure Hack 1.0, he said that the hackathon, which was launched in February, garnered over 400 registrations from participants to form 100 plus teams from 62 locations in four countries and across two continents.

He said that the teams were split into groups of four and were required to work together for three weeks, brainstorming and identifying new concepts based on their focus areas which include cybersecurity, physical security, and biosecurity.

Afolabi said that the best team would have the chance to win N2,000,000 prize pool and an acceleration programme investment to get their products ready for the market among other benefits.

NAN reports that some of the teams that participated are Cyber Hive Pitch Desk, a platform that offers cyber security education; Health Waka, a platform that provides seamless tracing and tracking of sick people; Team 9 and Team 18, among others.

After the pitching of ideas, team Health Waka was declared winner of the N2,000,000 pool prize by a group of Jurors.

Some of the Jurors were Dr Obadare Peter Adewale, Co-founder, Digital Encode Limited; Ayodele Olojede, Group Head, Emerging Businesses Africa, Access Bank, and David Ali, Chief Information, Security Officer, Airtel among others. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Vincent Obi