UNESCO supports Ghana’s STI for SDG Roadmap development
A national Technical Task Team meeting was held in Accra, Ghana on 1 March 2021 to review the first draft of the Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals Roadmap (STI for SDGs Roadmap) in Ghana. Members of the technical task, consisting of key stakeholders from relevant ministries, academia and research institutes expressed their views and contributed to the 1st draft of the roadmap focusing on prioritized SDGs (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9), providing STI solutions in Agriculture, Health, Education, Sanitation, Industry and Innovation for Job creation.
The roadmap was elaborated by a team led by the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-STEPRI), with the support of UNESCO and as part of the UN Global Pilot Programme on STI for SDGs roadmaps, which was launched in 2019 focusing on five pilot countries including Ghana.
Several UN agencies, including UNESCO, are collaborating to support developing countries through the UN Inter-agency Task Team (UN-IATT), as one of the pillars of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM).
A key principle in the formulation of the STI for SDGs Roadmap for Ghana was the buying-in by the relevant stakeholders. In this regard, a Technical Task Team (TTT) was constituted in June 2020, to provide inputs for the development of the STI for SDG Roadmap and coordinate related national activities. The Technical Task Team is chaired by the Chief Director of Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and Co-Chaired by the Head of the SDGs Unit in the Office of the President. The other members of the TTT are: Director STI, MESTI; representatives from National Development and Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Business Development, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Education, Ghana Statistical Services, Association of Ghana Industries and CSIR-STEPRI.
As part of the development of the STI for SDGs Roadmap for Ghana, the Technical Task Team led by CSIR-STEPRI elaborated a detailed STI situational analysis report in October 2020 and produced policy briefs which will be published in the UN – IATT online policy briefs series.