Delegates examine ways to put technology in lives of Africa’s poor – UN

Delegates from more than 40 countries gathered today at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Ethiopia to look at ways to put science and technology within the grasp of all Africans, especially the poor.

“We have chosen science and technology as the theme this year because of our firm belief that prospects for poverty eradication and sustainable development will remain dim until the majority of Africans start to use technology in their daily lives,” said Josue Dione, Director of the Sustainable Development Division at ECA.

The four-day meeting is the third for the expert Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD) established in April 1966 by African government ministers responsible for planning and economic and social development. The CSD advises the ECA on food security, population, environment, human settlements, natural resources, science and technology.

Yale University Professor Robert Everson, an expert on agricultural households in developing countries and on technical change, was scheduled to give three lectures during the meeting on the quest for food security in Africa.