Government urged to enact law on funding of scientific
research
Accra, Aug. 13, Ghanadot/GNA
- Government has been urged to enact a law that will ensure
that one per cent of Gross Domestic Product is set aside for
scientific research funding.
"Science and technology is the bedrock of development of
every nation and will be successful if it has that strong
and sincere political will," Mr. Peter Atadja, a Senior
Research Investigator at Novartis Institute for Biomedical
Research, said in Accra on Wednesday.
Mr. Atadja, who was speaking at the opening of a three-day
first Ghana Biomedical Convention in Accra, said there was
also the need for government to institute and implement a
brave science policy.
He noted that, countries like South Africa and other
developed countries had been able to attain their present
status because of the strong backing of government for
science and technology issues and called for a strong and
passionate lobbying for the policy.
"We should also emphasise more science education at all
cycles of education to ensure that children at a tender age
develop the interest to study science instead of developing
the mindset that science subjects are difficult.”
The convention, on the theme; "Opportunities and Challenges
of New Technologies in Biomedicine", the first to be
organized in Ghana and West Africa, is aimed at
disseminating scientific information amongst Ghanaian
biomedical scientists and creating a platform for Ghanaian
biomedical researchers to present their scientific work in
the country.
He said Ghanaians should not be satisfied with what they had
but should be more inquisitive, daring and innovative to
move the country forward.
Professor Aaron Lante Lawson, Provost of the College of
Health Sciences, called for the need to produce the needed
human resource required to move biomedical science forward.
GNA
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