EU funds young scientists

CHARITY MUSA
Correspondent | Friday April 13, 2007 00:00

Trias said this during the official opening of the European Union (EU) Contact Point Network (CPN) training workshop for young African scientists held at Ndola Central Hospital's Tropical Diseases Research Centre (TDRC).

He said from the six billion euros, 800 million euros would be set aside to research on poverty-related diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) by African scientists from different countries on the continent in collaboration with the Europeans.

 

Trias said about 30 to 40 projects would be funded by EU in Africa and urged young scientists on the continent to participate in the programme.

He said 90 percent of the diseases are in developing countries that need to be tackled through science by young African scientists who were supposed to identify the problems the continent was facing through projects.

 

And CPN Africa coordinator Katharina Kuss said HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB caused a lot of deaths in Africa and to stop the scourge, both African and European scientists should come up with ways to stop the outbreak of diseases through research.

Kuss said HIV/AIDS was a global issue, which needed to be controlled through research by finding essential medicines

She said poverty-related diseases had an impact on African countries and there was need by the Zambia government and EU to exchange information through research ventures.

 

Health minister Angela Cifire said Zambian researchers were constrained by lack of access to funding opportunities to enable them to compete on the world stage.

Cifire said the EU initiative to fund African and Zambian scientists in particular would empower them to research through the available funding in collaboration with their European counterparts.

Cifire said Africa was coming closer in tackling common health problems and networking.

 

She said regional integration across the continent was being emphasised because 'health problems in one country can not be confined only to its borders'.

Cifire said when tackling public health problems in one country, 'there is need to be aware of their implications for the neighbouring countries'. (Sila Press Agency)