Uganda should rethink its decision on World Bank funding

The World Bank funded a $30 million project in Uganda five years ago to support science and technology in that country. I was involved as one of the team helping to determine whether such a project made sense and then helping to design the project. The intent was to have peer review of project proposals for much smaller subgrants to Ugandan scientists that would fund research and development on important topic for Ugandan development; scientists and their institutions would develop capacity while doing research and developmenet.

David Dickson, the editor of SciDev.Net, has an editorial in this weeks edition indicating that the Government of Uganda is not seeking a second tranche of that funding. Official spokespersons for the government are quoted as stating that the decision is simply that the government prefers to use other sources to fund the continuation of the efforts. Scientists are described as expressing skepticism about that claim and concern for the stability of funding of the scientific enterprise. I share their concern.

You might be interested in Science, Technology and Innovation in Uganda: Recommendation for Policy and Action by my friend and colleague Caroline Wagner and two others.