Chemistry in the developing world

Developing countries are using chemical research to accelerate economic progress. The RSC has many initiatives that assist chemists in the developing world

For many years the RSC has donated journals to departmental libraries in developing countries, but with this initiative the RSC becomes the first learned society to provide free access to its journals' back-catalogue, from 1841 to 2004. This is just one example of the work the RSC is doing to support science and technology in the developing world.

Science back on the agenda

Science is back on the agenda in the developing world. In March, Paul Kagawe, President of Rwanda announced his government would be setting up a new Ministry of Science, Technology and Scientific Research to drive the country's strategy of applying scientific research to improve health, agriculture and the environment. 

This is just one example of how the developing world is starting to follow a knowledge-based path to development. Many other regions are well ahead already. In particular, India, China and parts of Latin America have already achieved a degree of development in science and technology far greater than other countries in their regions. 

So why is science and technology so important to the developing world?In fact, some have argued that he pursuit of its own science capability is not at all essential and that developing countries could acquire knowledge and technologies from the world market. 

But experience shows that this is not the case - even if technologies are imported they still need to be adapted for local use, which needs qualified human resources. In addition, there are many challenges unique to the developing world such as tropical diseases or agriculture sustainability. These receive little attention from scientists in the developed world.

Science equals development

Science and technology are essential components of social and economic development. They are crucial in tackling problems affecting the developing world such as health care, safe drinking water and food supplies. Technological advance will affect the whole economic growth of developing countries. New and improved products, processes and services will help to raise productivity and competitiveness.

There is an intimate relationship between science, technology and sustained economic development. Per capita research expenditure in developed countries is over 200 times greater than that of the poorest nations. 

The well-known North-South divide in technological capacity has recently been accompanied by growing disparities within the South itself. This is creating a 'South-South' divide between scientifically proficient countries like Brazil, India and South Korea and others who have not made progress mainly sub-Saharan Africa, most notably the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

The international community does now acknowledge that science and technology are fundamental in alleviating poverty and most government aid programmes at least pay lip-service to the need for science and technology support to be integrated into development budgets. 

The 2004 Commission for Africa report recommended that the international community should commit up to US$3 billion over the next ten years to develop centres of excellence in science and technology. As Dr William Kalema, a member of the Commission said 'a stronger science, engineering and technology capacity for Africa is not a luxury, but a necessity.'

The RSC in the developing world

The RSC has long supported chemistry in the developing world - but this help is now more important than ever. Climate change will make conditions even more difficult for many regions and the problems likely to arise will need chemical scientists to find solutions. 

The RSC itself is an international organisation, with over 15 percent of its membership outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. Many international members are in developing countries. The Society's first international section was established in India in the 1920's.

Chemistry in Africa

Chemists in the poorest parts of the world are starting to develop the infrastructure needed for a scientific community. In February, a Federation of African Societies of Chemistry (FACS) was launched at the annual congress of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia. The Federation aims to encourage cooperation and help disseminate research, just as such regional groupings in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. 

The RSC regards Africa as a priority area for assistance and supports many projects, both on its own and along with other bodies. The RSC supports chemical societies in developing countries, both financially and with expertise. In the 1990's Botswana and Malawi set up new chemical societies with the help of the RSC. 

The RSC regularly supports conferences in the developing world, such as the recent environmental chemistry workshop in Namibia; the first chemistry conference held in the country since independence. The RSC provided financial support to enable the attendance of young scientists from outside Namibia. 

The RSC provides support for the Chemistry Research Applied to World Needs committee which is part of the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. In December 2007 the committee will hold a major conference on chemistry, sustainable agriculture and human wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa (to be held in South Africa).

Assisting research

In addition to supporting networks and events, the RSC provides small grants to support individual researchers in impoverished institutions. The society gives grants of up to £1,200 a year (rising to £2,000 in 2007). This year grants were given to scientists from Argentina, China, Egypt, Jamaica, Nigeria, Russia and South Africa. 

International collaborative workshops are another feature of the RSC's work in supporting research in the developing world. The RSC particularly aims to expose younger academics to the broader community of international scholarship so that they can build long term bridges for trans-national collaborations. 

Such collaborations do not just assist the developing world but have significant benefits for UK chemists. As well as revitalising the image of our own science, they expose UK academics to some of the stimulating work that does go on in the developing world. 

Workshops are being held with Indian, Cuban and Chinese chemists and there are also plans to organise activities in Brazil.

Politically challenging regions

In the Middle East, the RSC has been involved in two ground-breaking conferences designed to facilitate relationships between scientists in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab world. Based on a series of workshops with six Nobel Laureates, the latest event, held in November 2005 in Malta, provided a forum to discuss the challenges and needs of this part of the world.

Education

Science education is often a problem for developing countries who do not have the resources needed to teach practical science in schools. Chemistry suffers particularly as without access to chemicals and equipment, teachers cannot demonstrate the basic principles, nor pupils learn basic techniques. 

The RSC has supported the development of educational material by the Chemistry Aid project, run from Southampton University. In response to a request from the Scientific Advisory and Information Network in Nairobi, a CD-ROM on practical chemistry was donated to Kenyan schools. An encouraging response has opened up possibilities for providing other resources and extending the programme to other developing countries. 

In addition, the Society supports teaching in the developing world via the Voluntary Service Overseas scheme (VSO).At present, the RSC supports chemistry based science teachers in Eritrea, Ghana and Rwanda. Discussions are underway for an additional RSC-sponsored VSO placement in Ethiopia to develop teaching materials in environmental chemistry.

Archives - for Africa and beyond

Access to scientific information is the essential ingredient to establish a sustainable science base in the developing world. Institutions cannot afford subscriptions to even a fraction of the large number of journals published today. 

Researchers routinely encounter problems accessing the articles they need to further their work. This is why the recently announced free access to the RSC journal archive can make such a big contribution to science in the developing world. The archive is being offered to over 50 developing countries in Africa and beyond. The RSC hopes that other publishers will follow its lead.

Solving problems with science

This year the RSC has gone further than ever in its support for chemistry in the developing world. Recent meetings with the chief scientific advisor to the UK's Department for International Development and head of its Africa Desk, have sparked ideas for new collaborative projects that the society hopes will be carried forward during this year. 

Access to science and technology is only one of the problems facing the developing world, but without it, the poorest countries will certainly be unable to solve their other problems.