Commission dares researchers, innovators on problem-solving
National Commission for Science and Technology has advised local innovators and researchers to utilise the Grand Challenges Initiative to solve the country’s economic crisis brought by Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives designed to foster innovation to solve key global health, agriculture, environmental and development problems.
Speaking on Friday in Lilongwe during a press briefing, the commission’s acting director general Gift Kadzamira said the commission will provide grants to researchers and innovators to help in solving the economic challenges.
She said: “You know that issues to do with humanitarian crises as far as Malawi is concerned are slowly becoming persistent and with heavy devastation just as the recent tragic incident of Cyclone Freddy.
“We have been having these humanitarian crises, but we have been failing to solve them.”
Kadzamira said the grand innovators and researchers is an opportunity to solve the chalenges.
The grants are also in the commission’s priority areas contained in the National Research Agenda and in the Grant Challenge Initiative globally and on the African continent.
The commission’s director of planning Victor Gondwe said Malawi and Rwanda are the only countries in Africa to be initiated in this year’s Grand Challenges Initiative.
He said the Grand Challenges Initiative will be rolled out in October this year..
Malawi has selected humanitarian crises as its first priority area to solve Cyclone Freddy challenges.
The Grand Challenges Initiative will strive to ensure that Malawi’s research, science, technology and interventions are locally driven to solve socio-economic development challenges and ensure that the cyclone does not dampen economic growth prospects.
