Africa in Focus. Africa

Transcription

1 Africa in Focus Leolyn Jackson International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) Director: International Relations & SANORD Africa Just over 1 billion people Abundant natural resources NB! Remains the poorest and underdeveloped Australia have relations with 51 out 53 Africa countries 1

2 Some realities about Africa The Continents: To Scale The land area of each territory is shown here. The total land area of these 200 territories is 13,056 million hectares. Divided up equally that would be 2.1 hectares for each person. A hectare is 100 metres by 100 metres. However, population is not evenly spread: Australia's land area is 21 times bigger than Japan's, but Japan's population is more than six times bigger than Australia's. 2

3 Secondary Education Worldwide approximately 73 million children are enrolled in each year of secondary education out of a possible 122 million children. That is only 60% getting a secondary education. In China on average 89% get a secondary education, but in India it is only 49%. Figures in Africa are even lower: 45% in Northern Africa, 25% in Southeastern Africa and 13% in Central Africa. The lowest is 5% in Niger. What is compulsory in some territories is a rarity in others. Tertiary Education The highest percentage of the student aged population enrolled is in Finland. Finland is 3.6 times the world average, with 140 times the chance of a tertiary education than in Mozambique. 3

4 Science Research Scientific papers cover physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering, technology, and earth and space sciences. The number of scientific papers published by researchers in the United States was more than three times as many as were published by the second highest-publishing population, Japan. There is more scientific research, or publication of results, in richer territories. This locational bias is such that roughly three times more scientific papers per person living there are published in Western Europe, North America, and Japan, than in any other region. New Patents In 2002, 312 thousand patents were granted around the world. More than a third of these were granted in Japan. Just under a third were granted in the United States. A patent is supposed to protect the ideas and inventions that people have. Patenting something will then allow the owner of the patent to charge others for the usage of an idea or invention. The aim is to reward the creator for their hard work or intelligence. But patents can prevent people from using good ideas because they cannot afford to do so. A quarter of all territories had no new patents in 2002, so will not profit from these in future years as others will. 4

5 Wealth Growth Tuberculosis The World Health Organisation reports that someone with open tuberculosis would infect 10 to 15 people a year. So when a certain number of people are infected it is very hard to stop it spreading further. Tuberculosis bacilli are spread through the air when someone sneezes or coughs. In the past 50 years drugs have been developed to treat tuberculosis. The disease has since developed strains that are resistant to those drugs. 5

6 Infant Mortality HIV Prevalence This map shows the number of people aged years old living with HIV. In 2003, the highest HIV prevalence was Swaziland, where 38%, or almost 4 in every 10 people aged 15 to 49 years, were HIV positive. All ten territories with the highest prevalence of HIV are in Central and Southeastern Africa. 6

7 Malaria cases Of all the people living with malaria, 92% live in African territories. Parts of Mediterranean Africa have very low numbers of malaria cases. In contrast, almost half the people living in Uganda suffer from malaria. Uganda also has the most cases of malaria in the world. Most territories are barely visible due to the low number of malaria cases found there. Some examples of Australia-Africa collaborations in HE and research Australia Awards in Africa Improving Food Security in West Africa West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development Building Africa science capability West African exploration Initiative International Livestock Research Institute Australian Center for International Agricultural Research Australian International Food Security Centre >AU $30 million in sub-saharan Africa between

8 Some examples of Australia-Africa collaborations in HE and research (cont d) Research - Co-authorship (close to 690) Environmental Science Ecology, Public Environmental Occupational Health, Psychology Australia Africa Universities Network Member Universities Addressing challenges facing both regions through partnerships MDGs Get industry, Gov., NGO s involved Some examples of South African and Australian HE and research collaborations Monash first private HE institution in South Africa (2001) University of Fort Hare & University of South Australia ( Using teacher stories to reveal quality educational practice: An Eastern Cape experience (International Journal of Educational Development, 2008) 11 year partnership Global Square Kilometre Array Programme Widely recognised as excellent opportunity for human capacity and economic development Eidos Institute (early childhood development) Research (612 co-authored articles in 2012: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Ecology, Zoology) 8

9 Some key trends and reforms for Africa HE and research 1. Increased demand for HE 2. Cultivating Next Generation of African Academics = Brain drain/circulation 3. Globalization, internationalization and partnership 4. Revision of Africa s S&T Roadmap Consolidated Plan of Action Science & Tech, and Innovation Strategy Africa (STISA) Strengthening of existing HE networks in Africa (IEASA, ANIE, etc) 6. Emergence of new thematic platforms and Centres of Excellence (Food security, Climate change, etc) 7. Privatisation in HE across Africa >100 Uni s 8. MOOCs Massive Online Open Courses (any impact on Africa HE and research?) Funding Some current bi-regional opportunities Australia Awards in Africa - launched in Sept 2013! Level: Fellowships, Masters, and PhDs; also, short courses NGOs, private sector professionals Funding type: Equipment and materials; Grants for individual investigators; Research travel; Financial aid for postgraduate students Countries: Uganda, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Algeria, Cape Verde, Morocco Value: Approx. AU $ 35,000 each Also: Human Rights Grants (AU $120,000) - AusAid Development Research Awards, (AU $ 1,2 million) AusAid John Dillon Fellowships 9

10 High-level challenges for Africa HE and research institutions Institutional management, governance, and leadership Gender equity Pockets of excellence instead of consistent concentrations Political instability Limited focus on S&T Access to and use of ICTs Funding sources and mechanisms Thank You Leolyn Jackson Director: International Relations & SANORD University of the Western Cape (UWC) Council member, IEASA

11 How can Australia best assist? Capacity building Seven Strategic Partnerships with Humankind There are at least seven human development challenges that universities must champion. Governments can t or won t. They are: 1. To move humans in developed countries to understand that they have lived beyond their means and they must prepare themselves for a more humble future. 2. To move humans in developing countries to understand that they cannot use the developed nations as points of reference for their material expectations 3. To move all humans to understand that we must develop a wise relationship with our natural environment 11

12 Seven Strategic Partnerships with Humankind 4. To move all humans to think of ourselves as earthlings who must work together to secure our future. This implies an internationalist perspective. 5. To move all humans to understand that there is a direct relationship between population growth and the availability of resources 6. To move all humans to understand that there is a direct relationship between ownership, competence and hard work on the one hand and development on the other 7. To move all humans to understand that safety lies in knowledge and partnerships 12