UN Economic Commission for Africa
(Addis Ababa)
February 17,
2000
Addis Ababa (ECA)- Leading
development and capacity building experts from Africa and beyond will attend a
major regional conference here next week, to assess the impact of the brain
drain on Africa's development, and to consider how the net loss of intellectual
capacity can be stemmed and harnessed.
The Regional Conference on Brain Drain and Capacity Building in Africa, to
take place from 22 - 24 February 200 at the UN Conference Centre, is a joint
initiative of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), in co-operation with the International
Development Research Centre (IDRC) and a number of other development partners.
The main objective of the meeting is to situate the issues pertaining to the
causes, magnitude and implications of brain drain in the African region in the
context of the current debate about capacity building in the continent.
The specific objectives of the conference are to:
- Review various approaches (and experiences) in capacity building and the
extent to which they take into account the flight of human capital and its
impact on existing or future capacity;
- Develop a comprehensive and integrated approach for effectively utilizing
human resources in Africa;
- Recommend and disseminate to African policy-makers practical implementation
modalities to stem or reverse brain drain and build capacity at national and
regional levels;
- Follow up and develop project activities geared to strengthening human
resource capacity building and the return of qualified African to member States.
Among other aspects, the conference will explore the impact of the brain
drain on different levels and sectors, as well as examine government-education-
industry relationships in building capacity. Participants will be drawn from the
public sector, the private sector, non-governmental organizations,
Intergovernmental and regional organizations -- including the Organization of
African Unity (OAU), the African Development Bank (ADB), the Association of
African Universities (AAU), the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF).
Other organizations to be represented include the Commonwealth Secretariat and
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to an aide memoire on the conference, the context of the meeting is
that in a globalized world, with an increasing premium on scientific and
technological innovation, competition, knowledge and expertise, the overarching
question is whether Africa can achieve its paramount objective of "poverty
reduction through accelerated economic growth, sustainable development and
effective integration of African economies into the global economy".
Human capital flight, or brain drain, and as it is commonly known, refers to
the departure for other countries of university-trained persons and others that
have received specialized training, often at high cost to their country of
origin. This is certainly not a new phenomenon, but has risen sharply in recent
years. The reasons for these concerns are quite obvious as not only do the
public and private sectors continue to face serious capacity constraints, the
loss of trained people through out-migration and exodus reduces the availability
of skilled human resources that African countries need so badly for self-reliant
and sustainable development.
ECA and IOM estimate that between 1960 and 1975, some "27,000 high-level
Africans left the continent for the West. Between 1975 and 1984, this number
increased to about 40,000 and then almost doubled by 1987, representing 30 per
cent of the highly skilled manpower stock. Africa lost 60,000 professionals
(doctors, university lecturers, engineers, etc) between 1985 and 1990 and has
been losing an average of 20,000 annually ever since.
Addressing a conference on Development of Science and Technology in Paris, UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan declared that "scientific innovation is the driving
force of growth and development". He added that if Africa is to take part in
this progress, nothing less than a transformation in priorities and policies is
needed to develop Africa's scientific knowledge and expertise. Currently,
Africa's share in world scientific output has fallen from 0.5 per cent to 0.3
per cent, with the continent experiencing a continuing brain drain of
scientists, engineers and technologists. Only 20,000 scientists (or 3.6 per cent
of the world's scientific population) are African. What is more, 80 per cent of
scientific research is concentrated in a handful of industrialized countries.
It is against this backdrop of large amount of investments being lost each
year to other countries and the substantial reservoir of capacity endowments in
the continent and abroad and the inability of technical assistance to transfer
knowledge and expertise that the issue of brain drain and capacity building
needs to be discussed and appropriate and concrete intervention strategies
designed.
The aide memoire argues that unless serious steps are taken to develop
critical institutional and human capacities, the recent positive developments in
the economy will not be sustainable and will not make a significant dent on
poverty. Africa's main resource to carry it through the next millennium will be
the creativity of its people -- its human resources.
According to the organizers, this regional conference will provide an
opportunity for policy and decision-makers as well as academics and
professionals in both the public and private sectors, to rethink the role of
government in making national education systems more relevant, efficient and
effective. The conference will also address strategies to create and sustain the
requisite political and economic environment needed to strengthen Africa's base
of critical capacities, effectively utilize its human resources and strengthen
the region's competitiveness within the global economy.
For more information, please contact:
Sophia Denekew Communication Team Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa
Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-44 50 98 (direct) or +251-1-51 72 00 Ext. 35098 Fax: +251-
1-51 03 65 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca
Distributed via Africa News Online