The Director of West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), Professor Gordon Awandare, has called for more sustainable funding towards research in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The work of research institutions like WACCBIP is in the limelight because of the pandemic but Prof. Awandare wary about the status quo returning once the pandemic is contained.
“We are only relevant right now to the national discourse because there is a crisis and our expertise is needed. After the crisis, we may just forget about science and move on and start fighting about politics,” he said on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday.
“We cannot only turn to scientists when there is a crisis because we have to be ready all the time. We need to be supported with what we are doing so we can be doing on a consistent basis,” he added.
Better support for research will also help stave off brain drain on the continent, Prof. Awandare also noted.
“If we are able to create that kind of enabling environment, some of the best scientific brains that Africa and Ghana have will come back to the continent and those who are here will stay here and then we can be more globally competitive.”
In addition, he cited the proposed National Research and Innovation Fund and the pledge from African governments to spend one percent of GDP on research.
“Some Bills go to Parliament and they are out within a week. The [National Research and Innovation Fund] Bill has been there for two years. That tells you the priority.”
On the pledge to spend one percent of GDP on research, he added that: “we need to go beyond the one percent and do two percent. And that can be done through a vehicle such as the National Research and Innovation Fund”.
Prof. Awandare was speaking after the strides made by Scientists at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens after they sequenced the genome to discover more details on the genetic composition of the virus.