Women and science-led development

Abstract

The application of science and technology to development in Africa remains a major challenge even after numerous attempts to implement strategies (1, 2, 3) for the promotion of a science-led modernization of all economic sectors. These strategies have portrayed development as a process of social transformation whose success depends on the involvement of all levels of society in Africa, where 70 to 80 per cent of the population reside in rural areas. Successful application of science to development will'be measured by the amelioration of the quality of life of the majority of the population. It must ensure improvements in food production, nutrition, health and educational services, and the arrest and reversal of environmental degrada tion which has become a widespread phenomenon in the continent.