POTENTIALS OF SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN ACHIEVING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN AFRICA

Eteng, Womi-Eteng Oboma1; Adepoju, Kayode2 Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Abuja; African Regional Center for Space Science and Technology Education in English (ARCSSTE-E), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Contact: princeeteng@yahoo.com or adewaleadepoju@yahoo.com

Keywords: SST (Space Science and Technology), Economy, MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), DMC (Disaster Monitoring Constellation), MDAs (Ministries Departments and Agencies), Policies, Education, SMEs, Geospatial Technology, Regional Integration. ABSTRACT The 2000 Millennium Summit that officially established the Millennium Development Goal is widely applauded as an emphatic footprint of true globalization. However, over a decade into the implementation of the MDGs in Africa, much is left to be desired. This situation inspired this work. It posits that the development and application of space science and technology in Africa can help in relieving food crisis, poverty, educational and health challenges on the one hand and enhance environmental sustainability and global partnership on the other hand, being issues addressed by the 8-points-agenda of the MDGs. The work goes further to identify Geospatial SMEs as integral part of SST which can contribute immensely to the realization of the MDGs. However, poor funding of the sector, research and education amongst others are pointed out as factors capable of crippling these potentials.

1.0 INTRODUCTION In todays world, an attempt to portray space science and its applications as a stand -alone venture is, remarkably, a poor representation of its relevance. From the time the curiosity of man took him

above the ground- by balloon flights in 1783- to the present era where he can spend months in a spaceship, several innovations and technologies have emerged, serving not only the needs of the space industry but human existence in general. Worthy of note is the fact that the involvement of national governments in space affairs during the years that followed the end of the Second World War. There was a radical technological revolution among countries that had space programs- USSR and the U.S.A. In pursuant of their main goalsending man to outer space- the challenge posed by the hostile nature of the space environment was surmounted through simultaneous development of technology. Although some of these technologies took their roots from all-ready existing ones, Ayansola (2010) rightly surmised that In many cases, these (technological) advances would occur much more slowly or not at all without the challenge of space exploration. Today, mans venture into space has provided a holistic understanding of his own environment- earth- and the technologies that were created for space exploration have surpassed their critical needs in the space industry serving several purposes such as environmental monitoring, disaster detection, resource management, global navigation, communications and many more. These are undeniably a benefit for all mankind. As it concerns economic returns, countries that were and are at the fore of space science and technology have a lot to show for it following the present era of space exploration which seeks to maximize the commercial potentials within. Global space economy has experienced a robust growth with commercial revenues and government budgets amounting to over $300 billion (6.7%) by the end of 2012 and rising above 40% in the last five years. This growth is driven by the commercial sector where of the 6.7% growth experienced in 2012, Space Foundation reports a whopping 5.4% in commercial revenue. It is in the face of these that one would wonder where Africa stands, being a part of the global community. For a continent that is critically in need of development, Africa cannot continue to be marginalized in space affairs. While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been unanimously embraced by all African states as a viable developmental tool, many are yet to see the role space science and technology can play in its achievement. Proponents of this view maintain that Africa is unprepared for such luxury. Contrary to this, space provides a platform for

addressing problems from a broader perspective. According to Ayansola (2010), space science missions are meant to provide basic knowledge about our environment, through which better decisions about how to sustain and improve life on Earth can be achieved. In explicit terms, the development of space science and technology in Africa is capable of ensuring standard education and technology development, and mitigating communication constraints, resource management issues, food crisis , health challenges, prevailing unemployment trends, to mention but a few. These are all specific targets summed up in the 8-MDGs. Nonetheless, it comes as a relief to know that African countries are beginning to incorporate space activities into their local affairs. But factors such as poor funding, inconsistent policies and implementation gaps, poor investment in education and high corruption are capable of crippling the actualization of the MDGs through space science and technology.

2.0

GLOBAL SPACE ECONOMY

Space Economy defines the full range of activities and use of resources that create and provide value and benefits to human beings in the course of exploring, understanding and utilizing space and related technologies. There has been a steady global rise in returns from this sector. Ayansola (2010) wrote that every one dollar spent on developing the communications satellites industry has put back more than $25 into the economy. As at 2010, the U. S. Space Foundation reported an overall global space economy rise of 276.52 billion U.S. dollars in government budgets and commercial revenue, a 7.7 percent increase over 2009. Similarly, its 2011 report maintained a global space economy rise reaching $289.8 billion, representing a 12 percent mark in commercial revenues and government budgets over the previous year and 41 percent over the previous five years. In comparison, global government space budgets reflected a small scale increase, with great variation from one nation to the next, captured in its 2010 report as only 1.1 percent. Russia, India and Brazil increased their space spending by 20 percent while spending in the U. S. and Japan reflected little changes. This is part of a trend of commercial growth that has been recurring since 2005 and has contributed to cumulative global growth of a staggering 48 percent, with no year showing less than a five percent gain.

YEAR 2010 2011 2012

REVENUE (US$ BILLIONS) 276.52 289.80 304.31

% GROWTH 7.70 12 6.7

While the economic situation is considered hard in many sectors, there are reports that this is not the case in the space field. For instance, the U.S average annual space industry salary was 15 percent greater than the average salary for the 10 science, technology, engineering and mathematics career fields with the greatest employment. During 2010, the average annual space industry salary was just under $97,000, more than twice the average U. S. private sector earnings. In India, at the 2012 India Geospatial Forum, her National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) announced that it surpassed its sales target and projects a $118 billion by 2014 and 241billion by 2020 as economic returns from the Geospatial Technology industries. Similarly, Europe and Japan have also maintained their space workforce through periods of relative economic strength and weakness, according to the report. Dawn.com estimates the UKs space sector as worth 4.8 billion per annum, directly employing 24,900, supporting 70,000 jobs and making an overall contribution of almost 7 billion per annum to UKs GDP. 3.0 OVERVIEW OF AFRICAN SPACE ACTIVITIES

Space science and technology had been in operation within Africa for decades. South Africa, Algeria and Egypt are some countries with the oldest space activity history on the continent. South
Africa has been involved on a small scale, in space activities since

1820 mostly in the area of astronomy, and

has remained active in space observations and satellite tracking since the beginning of the space age. The Algerian space program started as far back as 1947 during the colonial period when France established the constellation of launch complexes and test sites at the Special Weapon Test Center. The Egyptian space program was established in 1960 though it was discontinued after a few years. (Zahra, 2008).

Despite this, most of Africas position in space over time had been as consumers without venturing as space players for several reasons, not excluding constraints of funding and lack of basic infrastructure. However, that trend is changing in recent years with a number of African countries flagging space agencies, developing space policies with long term plans, and launching satellites into space as Akinyede et al (2010) puts it thereby joining the league of sensing countries and moving Africa out of the former class of being totally a sensed continent.

Within the last decade, Nigeria and Algeria made a global landmark when it partnered with SSTL and five other countries- China, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Vietnam- in the international Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) project. This formed the first-ever microsatellite constellation bringing remarkable Earth observation capabilities both nationally to the individual satellite owners, and internationally to benefit world-wide humanitarian aid efforts. Presently, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Egypt and Ghana have space agencies and own satellites in space, excluding Ghana.. Other African countries have remote sensing centers that serve as the hub of space applications. These countries are: Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mauritius.

Looking ahead, the development of an African Space Agency (ASA) has been proposed to coordinate and link the various isolated scientists around the continent; the idea is yet in its infancy but if modeled after the European space agency (ESA), it will go a long way in championing space activities in Africa. (Zahra, 2008)

4.0

POTENTIALS OF AFRICAN SPACE ACTIVITIES IN MDGs REALIZATION

It is not unusual to hear debates of Africas unpreparedness to go into Space, being perceived as a luxury venture. Proponents of this view, point to the fact that Africa has basic human challenges like poverty, hunger, health issues to deal with and maintain that instead of venturing into such bogus business, Africa should work towards realizing the Millennium Development Goals. Why spend on space when issues within our immediate environment are yet to be addressed? They will ask! It is against this backdrop that this section is dedicated to illustrating how Africa can use

space science and technology to achieve or at least contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and not less than 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include:

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, Achieving universal primary education, Promoting gender equality and empowering women Reducing child mortality rates, Improving maternal health, Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, Ensuring environmental sustainability, and Developing a global partnership for development.

Goal I: Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger: The World Bank defines extreme poverty as the severe lack of material possessions or money. In 2011, the World Bank reviewed extreme poverty as surviving on the equivalent to US$1.50 or 1 per day; Meanwhile, the World Hunger Education Service Defines Hunger as the want or scarcity of food in a country. It estimates that 388 million people, representing about 40%, of the total 1,022,234,000 human lives in the continent are poor. Similarly, World Food Program reports that of the total 925 million chronically hungry people, a quarter is in Sub-Saharan Africa. These figures do not come as a surprise given that many problems have plagued the continent, from inherent poverty to natural disasters, to repeated battles with famine, and to tribal wars. However, for a continent that has been naturally endowed with unquantifiable resources, it is pathetic.

Millions of People

SST as a Solution Extreme hunger: Drought-triggered famine checkmated by space based Famine Early Warning System (FEWS). Among others, one of the causes of poverty and especially hunger is drought-triggered famine which can be mitigated using space technology. The Famine Early Warning System (FEWS), a space-based project already in operation and supported by USAID, NOAA, USGS and NASA affirms this fact. It has as its goal reduction of the incidence of famine in Sub-Saharan Africa by monitoring the agricultural growing season. Monitoring is carried out through the instrumentality of greenness maps. These maps allow analysts to monitor the development of vegetation in a gricultural regions. In addition, rainfall estimates are produced by NOAA based on geostationary weather satellites data. Several other data are provided by FEWS Field Representatives including in situ rainfall data, field agricultural information and commodity price data. (Oyeshola, 2008; NASA, NOAA and USGS, 1999:59). Job creation: Space is a multi-disciplinary industry. Satellite-based TV services alone can create jobs for millions from the satellite design to TV retail services. Food Security/Job Creation: Using remotely sensed images and GPS to improve precision agriculture practices to reduce input costs while increasing productivity.

Goal II: Achieve Universal Primary Education With a population of 1,022,234,000 out of which 70% are under the age of 30%, Africa is the most youthful continent. Therefore the need for at least a basic primary education cannot be over emphasized if the continents future must be guaranteed.

SST as a Solution While it remains worrisome that majority of those in critical need of basic education are in rural, often inaccessible locations, space technology can be used to bridge the gap through e-learning/tele-education. Tele-education: - Majority of those in critical need of basic education are in rural, often inaccessible locations, space technology can be used to bridge the gap through tele-education. - Children in the most remote areas can have access to quality education as obtainable in cities. - It stands out as the most viable way of delivering a cost effective and uniform educational service to a large population in different locations per time. Space Science Education

Most young minds are usually curious about space lessons especially for their fairy-tale imagination of the moon, stars, planets, galaxies, weightlessness, astronauts and the likes. Hence, teaching space science in schools and colleges could be career defining moments for them, hence raising the next generation of space scientists for Africa. Goal III: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Various reports attest to the fact that there is a pronounced imbalance in male to female representation in all spheres. For instance, UNFPA reports that for every hundred boys in school, there are only 83 girls. In the labor market, of the 550 million working poor in the world, an estimated 330 million representing 60% are women. Meanwhile, women employment in the informal sector and often low paying- as a percentage of women's total non-agricultural employment is generally higher than for men particularly evident in sub-Saharan Africa, where 84% of women's non-agricultural employment is informal, compared to 63% of men's.

SST as a Solution A robust Tele-education program will contribute to quality education of the girl-child even in the remotest areas. The broad-base of space employability opens up great opportunities for female engineers, doctors, business managers, lawyers, nurses and encourages entrepreneurship.

Success Stories from Nigeria 1st Nigerian Zeronaut is a female 1st Nigerian team of engineers to design a satellite included females.

Goal IV: Reduce Child Mortality It is no gain saying that the loss of children within Africa is very high. The 2011 UNICEF report shows that the highest rates of child mortality are still in sub-Saharan Africa where 1 in 8 children dies before age 5, more than 20 times the average for industrialized countries (1 in 167) and South Asia (1 in 15). It is even more painful realizing that most of the mortalities are caused by preventable diseases like malaria and diarrhea.

SST as a Solution Tele-medicine can take standard paediatrics medical services to children of the poor even in rural/remote communities. GIS/Spatial Technology:

The major factors that have been implicated for high infant mortality include: Low availability and access to health care services, Poor nutrition, Immunization constraints, Poor water sources and sanitation.

The use of GIS in spatial and temporal studies of these factors provide public health and all stakeholders with handy information on what should be prioritized per time, where to prioritize and to what level it should be prioritize, not excluding evidence-based resource allocation.

A Practical Example a. Okwaraji et al (2012) worked on: Effect of Geographical Access to Health Facilities on Child Mortality in Rural Ethiopia: A Community Based Cross Sectional Study. The team examined the effect of travel time and distance to health facilities on mortality in children under five years in a remote area of rural north-western Ethiopia. Using GIS, all households and the only health centre in the district were mapped. The result showed that distance to a health centre had a marked influence on under-five mortality in a poor, rural, remote area of Ethiopia. This study provides important information for policy makers on the likely impact of new health centers and their most effective location in remote areas. b. Indias polio immunization effort that recently took her off the Polio PAIN status incorporated the Spatial Decision Support System capacity of GIS to enhance immunization coverage. Goal V: Improve Maternal Health The African situational report on maternal health is still high compared to other regions. As stated in the UNICEF 2010 report, Sub-Saharan Africa suffered from the highest Maternal Mortality Ratio at 500 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births giving an estimated 162,000 maternal deaths in the year under review.

SST as a Solution Telemedicine can bring standard ante- and post-natal medical services to our, often, unreached pregnant women to reverse the trend. GIS is a veritable tool for decision makers in the health sector.

A practical Illustration Massey P. (2011) in his work on: Reducing Maternal Mortality in Senegal: Using GIS to Identify Priority Regions for the Expansion of Human Resources for Health examined the regional distribution of human resources for health and related maternal health indicators in Senegal. Results show that a regional imbalance in the distribution of health personnel and health indicators existed in Senegal and went on to posit that this disparity may have contributed to the disproportionate burden of disease experienced in the eastern part of the country. Based on a spatial analysis, a priority index was used to identify regions to target for the recruitment and training of midwives.

Goal VI: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases As at 2010, there were an estimated 22.9 million people living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa and 1.2 million deaths due to AIDS compared to 1.3 million in 2009. Almost 90% of the 16.6 million children orphaned by AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, there were 216 million

clinical cases of malaria reported (with uncertainty of 149 million to 274 million) in the same year resulting in 655,000 deaths (with uncertainty range of 537,000 and 907,000). Sadly, over 80% of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa where 90% of the infected people live. (WHO, 2011).

SST as a Solution Telemedicine provides a platform for cross-cutting healthcare including Home-Based Care to AIDS patients. Advances in geospatial technology (GIS) have created new opportunities for epidemiologists to study the associations between demographic, socio-economic, environmental exposures and spatio-temporal pattern of diseases. Medical researchers have taken advantage of the microgravity of space to better understand the nature of the AIDS virus (HIV). Crystals of HIV protease inhibitor grown in microgravity are significantly larger and of higher quality than any specimens grown on earth. This knowledge is fundamental to developing a cure or vaccine.

Goal VII: Ensure Environmental Sustainability In an era where climate change is fast affecting other systems at a global scale, Africa cannot fold its arm looking. The droughts in the Horn of Africa and Floods in the plains of West Africa are too real to be overlooked. Over 30,000 children were reportedly lost to the Somali drought crisis of 2011 and properties worth thousands of dollars have been destroyed within Nigeria due to floods, hence the need for an eye in space. A UNDP

report attributes the inability to achieve other MDGs to this phenomenon, stating that While other factors contribute to droughts and the shrinking of cultivable land, climate change exacerbates the situation". It went on to recommend that adapting to climate change was urgently required to ensure all the MDGs are met.

SST as a Solution Meteorological and Earth observation satellites (EOS) systems are leading space technologies that provide the essential data for hazard mapping, risk assessment, early warnings and disaster relief. Hence flood, famine and other disasters can be better prepared for by information from space technology (satellites). Oils spills, wildfires can be monitored and managed from space technology. Urban planning, land cover land use, deforestation, wildlife conservation, water resource management all benefit from space technology. Africas wealth of natural resources requires proper management to enhance sustainable development. To achieve this, space technology is inevitable. For instance, the use of radaraltimeter data for mapping gravity fields which provides information about the geology of the sea-bed across the worlds oceans has opened up a new source of information which is of great value to the hydrocarbons and mineral exploration industry. Similarly, satellite technology can be employed in mapping landuse, as well as the extent of damage due to oil spills, forest fires, severe storms, desertification and other environmental phenomena that are typical of Africa.

GIS can be employed in environmental impact assessment of developmental projects. The ability of this system to analyze data of various parameters-typical of an EIA- makes it the more relevant. With the technical aspect completed, an EIA report would guide the next action- continue or discontinue the project; consider alternative location and/or technology etc. This will, ultimately, offer a platform for informed policies that will protect our environment. Africas Success Story Algeria and Nigeria remote sensing satellites are part of the global Disaster Monitoring Constellation

Goal VIII: Develop Global Partnership for Development Only a few decades back, the concept of globalization seemed far-fetched. But today, it outplays itself in all spheres- education, religion, security, and politics- forming the bases for the establishment of international bodies like the UN, EU, AU, NATO, ECOWAS, etc. One gets to hear terms like bilateral agreement, economic bail out and the likes. Global partnership has contributed tremendously to bridging the gap in information, education, technology, health etc. For instance, the U.S. Presidents Malaria Initiative (PMI), launched in June 2005 is worth $1.2 billion and is expected to scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions. The goal of PMI, working closely with other governments, is to reduce malaria-related mortality by 70% in the original 15 countries by the end of 2015. U.K, China, Japan are not left behind in related foreign aids. Within Africa, the Nigerian Infantry- one of the best in the world- has contributed to the relative peace of several fellow African countries.

SST as a Solution The Disaster Monitoring Constellation opens up opportunities for similar collaboration among African Countries. Capacity building by ITC, Netherland and other institutions has enhanced the space application capacity of numerous Africans. Obvious possibilities of having an African Space Agency. Objectives and achievements of the biennial African Leadership Conference. Beginner and mid-carrier trainings in space applications hosted in ARCSSTE-E (Nigeria) , CRASTE-LF (Morocco), RECTAS (Nigeria), RCMRD (Kenya) . These endeavors are expected to result in the development and growth of technically and managerially competent human networks that will use those aspects of space science and technology to greatly impact economic and social development of countries, including the preservation of their environment for the general good of Africa and the world.

5.0 5.1

ROLES OF GEOSPATIAL SMEs IN ACHIEVING THE MDGs Background

It is evident that the realization of the MDGs requires the collective effort of both the government and private sector. While the government is expected to shoulder the responsibility of making policies and overseeing their implementation, the role of the private sector, particularly the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in driving the required change cannot be undermined. It is this

fact that has made global organizations like the World Bank, regional organizations like ECOWAS and national governments to prioritize SMEs in their economic plans. As a matter of fact, companies we now uphold as big started out as small businesses or research institutions. Their passion for technology and success served as the bedrock for their achievements over time. In line with this, the development of geospatial SMEs stand to profit entrepreneurs and the government. SMEs are potentially viable components of the geospatial industry since their ability to drive innovations and economic dynamism, promote entrepreneurship and create jobs is high. 5.2 Status

The roles of SMEs in the geospatial technology industry are summarized here into four. Viz: Technology SMEs: They are SMEs that develop specific technology for building products for the Principal Companies (PC) and also create products to meet local needs. They operate in a wide range of geospatial and business platforms. Service SMEs: As the name implies, they are committed to meeting customer needs in various aspects such as translating paper works into digital format, creating and processing data. Solution SMEs: They focus on creating value-added products and solutions that will appeal the end-user. They also customize products of the PCs to suit the changing market trends. Trading SMEs: Trading SMEs serve as distributors and retailers of products from the PCs.

SME Matrix in Selected Regions and Countries Region/Country SME Technology SME Trading SME Solution SME Service SME South-east Asia 5 70 5 20 15 40 15 20 20 30 20 30 5 80 5 10 5 70 5 20 India China/Japan Middle East Africa Latin America 10 60 10 20

Source: Geospatial World Magazine

From the table above, it can be seen that African G-Tech market is mainly represented by trading SMEs. 5.3 Opportunities

Being the most effective link between PCs and end-users and their sensitivity to specific customer needs, SMEs are faced with many opportunities. SMEs understanding of the local market dynamics provide a vantage point for the development of technologies that meet the critical needs of the customer. In fact, this major reason behind the evolution of yesterday SMEs into today PCs and can advance today into tomorrow PCs. The flexibility in Operation of SMEs is another unrivalled advantage. Unlike PCs whose bureaucratic nature of introducing new ideas are complex, SMEs enjoy the privilege of making swift adjustment in their policies and actions. This is advantageous especially when in line with the ever-changing customer needs and market trends. SME activities in G-tech can range from sale of geospatial software to implementing projects (usually as outsourcing partners). Furthermore, the dependence of PCs on SMEs provides a unique vantage point. This is particularly o maximize profits in terms of sale and promotion of their products and feedback from customers. SMEs possess the power to convince end-users on the viability of a product as well as discourage its use. PCs who understand this collaborative sale model have continued to support SMEs. For a continent that is at the infancy of SST, Africa is a greenfield that will allow for G-Tech SMEs to grow. Numerous opportunities are available for SMEs including provision of local support to PCs and government; and training human resources. Summarily, the development of Geospatial SMEs can enhance regional high value-added service sector for accelerated and sustainable socio-economic development. 6.0 CHALLENGES

The following factors are capable of crippling the potentials of space science and technology in achieving the MDGs in Africa: Inadequate funding of the space sector Policy implementation constraints Inadequate funding of general education Non-inclusion of space subjects/courses in conventional education. Corruption 7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Space science and technology can contribute immensely to the objectives of the MDG. Therefore, MDAs saddled with the responsibility of overseeing its development should prioritize partnership with other MDAs (education, health, environment, science and tech, communication etc) at both country and regional levels. Globally, the commercial space sector is driving space economy. Hence, African businesses should expand their investment base to include commercial space applications. Public-Private Partnership for existing and new space projects should be encouraged by African space agencies to boost the development of the space sector in general and geospatial SMEs in particular. Space provides a platform to address many of Africas problems from a regional perspective. Hence the need to build and/or sustain regional collaboration. The development of Geospatial SMEs can enhance a regional high value-added service sector for accelerated and sustainable socio-economic development.

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