35 of the world's 49 least developed countries are located in Africa. Nearly 70% of Africa's people live on less than US $2 a day. More than 26 million are afflicted with HIV/AIDS, a disease that claims the lives of 2.5 million each year. Nearly 1 million die each year of malaria. More than 40% do not have access to safe drinking water, and over 70% lack access to electricity. Education on the continent, while recently enjoying some signs of resurgence, continues to be inadequate, and reliable healthcare continues to be out of reach for most. Amid all of these difficulties lies a deficit that few international development agencies have acknowledged until recently: Africa simply does not have the science and technology capacity to effectively address the challenges that it confronts. To make matters worse, the continent lacks sufficient infrastructure for the knowledge creation and innovation that is so badly needed. Poverty reduction, food and energy security, adequate healthcare, adaptation to climate change, environmental degradation and sustainable development are all complex issues that demand their own set of responses if they are to be successfully addressed. Yet what all of these problems have in common is a need for a critical mass of indigenous science and technological expertise. Article here.

Academic directors and other representatives of the five RISE networks gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, on October 6-7 to share information about their groups’ research, plans and goals. Participants also heard from private sector representatives from East and South Africa about entrepreneurial opportunities for academic scientists, and they explored potential partnerships with representatives from university consortia outside of Africa. Grant programs sponsored by TWAS and the International Foundation for Science (IFS) were presented, and reporting requirements were reviewed. The inaugural RISE meeting, whose goal was to set the stage for a productive, sustainable initiative, was organized and hosted by the African Academy of Sciences in cooperation with SIG.

A new initiative to build scientific capacity in Africa has named its first three research and training networks following a competitive selection process. "The establishment of regional scientific research centers is in direct response to demands within Africa for more and better university-based instructors," said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation. "It is these types of investments that will facilitate Africa's accelerated development and greater and more meaningful participation in global knowledge flows." Article here.

The University of Pretoria has been selected as one of the six institutions participating in the Southern African Biochemistry and Informatics for Natural Products (SABINA) network program to be funded through the Carnegie-IAS Regional Initiative in Science and Education. "What is of note is that the research will be centered around increasing the understanding of useful plants (such as tea crops and indigenous plants) or fungi, through the development of screening assays, study of biosynthetic pathways, gene expression, modes of action, synthetic production and genetic diversity," says Professor Jane Morris, Director of the African Centre for Gene Technologies." Article here.

The 2007– 08 academic year marked SIG’s tenth as an outreach program of the Institute for Advanced Study dedicated to building science capacity in the developing world. SIG was created in 1998 to provide scientific guidance for the Millennium Science Initiative, a project inspired by the vision of James D. Wolfensohn, then Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Trustees, and developed jointly with the World Bank to support centers of scientific excellence in the developing world. Read SIG report here.

Engineers, oceanographers and chemists in eight African countries will benefit from three grants of US $800,000 each from a new science and education initiative. Amongst the recipients is the Southern Africa Biochemistry and Informatics for Natural Products initiative, headed by John Saka, a chemistry professor at the University of Malawi. SABINA, whose network includes the Malawi-based Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa and South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, aims to improve food security, health and exports using Africa's biodiversity and scientific advances. The second grant was awarded to the African Materials Science and Engineering Network. The network aims to produce homegrown engineers to exploit Africa's mineral wealth. The third RISE grant was awarded to the Western Indian Ocean Regional Initiative in Marine Science and Education, which intends to use research and training to promote sustainable development and protect the coastal and marine environment. Article here.

The Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE) today announced that grants, each worth US$800,000 over 2.5 years, will be awarded to three networks of sub-Saharan universities. The three awardees were selected from among 48 proposals involving 29 countries by a blue ribbon panel of international scientists. Proposals were evaluated based on scientific merit, training capacity, research activities, evidence of institutional support, added value of the network structure and potential for sustainability, including strategies for retaining faculty. Press release here.

A new initiative to build scientific capacity in Africa has named its first three research and training networks following a competitive selection process. The three networks selected include the African Materials Science and Engineering Network (AMSEN), led by Lesley Cornish of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. The network will focus on improving education in materials science to make fuller use of Africa's vast mineral deposits. The second network selected was the Southern African Biochemistry and Informatics for Natural Products (SABINA) which aims to improve food security, public health and exports by taking advantage of Africa's natural biodiversity through advances in natural products science. The Western Indian Ocean Regional Initiative in Marine Science and Education (WIO-RISE), led by Alfonse Dubi, was the third network to have been selected. It aims to use research and training to promote the sustainable development, utilization and protection of the coastal and marine environment. Article here.

The Southern African Biochemistry and Informatics for Natural Products network aims to train both PhD and MSc scientists from 2009 onwards, through research in the biochemistry and chemistry of natural products, including bioinformatics as an essential tool for data management and the elucidation of structure and function. Research will focus on increasing the understanding of useful plants or fungi (such as mushrooms and tea crops) through the study of screening assays, biosynthetic pathways, gene expression, modes of action, synthetic production, and genetic diversity. Article here.

The Regional Initiative in Science and Education has announced a first round of grants totaling $2.4 million to build three research and training networks of sub-Saharan universities. The Science Initiative at the Institute for Advanced Study is leading the RISE initiative in consultation with African partners, including the Nairobi-based African Academy of Sciences, the initiative's co-administrator. Universities in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania will included in the networks, which will be structured to enable the sharing of resources and scholarship. Article here.

The world's least developed countries (LDCs) are also the world's least scientifically proficient. They could benefit greatly from South-South cooperation on research projects and, even more importantly, through educational and training programs. This would provide the next generation of scientists with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Young scientists in LDCs should take advantage of these opportunities to help their countries build a strong foundation in scientific excellence. But if they are to do that, their governments must create and sustain conditions that encourage young scientists to stay at home. Article here.

Concept proposals for RISE networks have been received from 48 applicants and involve 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, from Angola to Zimbabwe. All six priority areas specified in the Request for Proposals (materials, mathematics, chemistry, ICT, energy, water) are represented, as are several other fields. Multi- and interdisciplinary networks are proposed as well. Some applicants plan to build on existing networks; others envision new partnerships.

A committee of six scientists from five countries, including three in Africa, will select twelve finalists who will be invited to submit fully developed proposals. Selection will be based on viability of the network, quality of the research and training, and other factors enumerated in the RFP, with consideration given to geographic and subject area diversity. Where the committee determines there is more than one excellent concept proposal in any given field, applicants may be given the option of submitting a joint proposal rather than competing against each other.