Researchers in Africa unite to tackle challenges
The researchers discussed poverty eradication in order to reduce the high brain drain and income inequalities occasioned by poor resource utilization. PHOTO / FILE
Africa’s researchers from the humanities and natural sciences have resolved to combine efforts and implement solutions unearthed from their findings to tackle major challenges that plague the continent.
Dr John Mushomi from the Department of Population Studies at the Makerere University yesterday said the resolution was meant to, among others, harness the solutions so that they are put to use as opposed to being left to waste away in libraries after publications.
The move is also meant to enable the economies resuscitate from the effects occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic using home-bread remedies.
“Researchers have a responsibility to collaborate with non-researchers to come up with and co-create solutions to problems of our society today. Therefore, we don’t have solutions probably because we have not previously communicated as one voice. We are not working together,” Dr Mushomi said.
During the hybrid one-day workshop hosted by Makerere University in conjunction with the South Africa’s University of Pretoria, more than 60 researchers from at least nine Africa countries participated.
Other players
They discussed ways through which they will engage policy makers, experts and leaders in various states on how to capitalise on knowledge gathered through research findings.
The researchers under their umbrella body ‘Future Africa’s Early Career Research Leader Fellowship (ECRLF) were gathering under the theme “History Meets Demography: Multi-Disciplinary Inquiry on Poverty, Resource Accessibility, and Mobility in Uganda and Beyond”.
Among them were researchers from major universities in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia and Uganda.
The researchers discussed poverty eradication in order to reduce the high brain drain and income inequalities occasioned by poor resource utilization.
They also discussed armed conflicts that have wrecked havoc among several African states.
The conflicts, the researchers say, are fuelled by power struggles and as result scare away potential investors and frustrate development efforts.
“Not all people can read about the solutions we propose through publications. So what we are encouraging is that as we respond to society issues, we need to use multi-sectoral and methodical approach. We will do policy briefs, media engagements and online engagements to breakdown the details to all stakeholders,” Dr Mushomi said.
