Government has earmarked an additional Shs17 billion to boost innovations across the country, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, told journalists on Thursday, July 16.
This website has reliably learnt that the aforementioned funds are in addition to Shs10b the ministry had already received.
During the European Union-African Union Research and Innovation ministers virtual meeting with special focus on Covid-19 held on Thursday, July 16, Dr Tumwesigye said the country has lost a number of innovations to foreign countries because local innovators could not patent such ideas.
“We are going to table a supplementary budget to get Shs17b for innovations…We want to ensure that our innovators are able to turn their ideas into finished commercial products,” Tumwesigye said.
The minister said the Makerere ventilator project will receive Shs600m to develop the ventilator and ensure that they produce an affordable product.
“They will be able to produce ventilators that will not cost more than $3,000(about Shs11m). Many of the ventilators on the market are too expensive and our people cannot afford. So the Makerere University low-cost ventilators will help us in this,” he said.
Currently, medical ventilators cost between $5,000 (Shs18.4m) and $50,000 (Shs184m).
Dr Tumwesigye also said at the continental level, the AU ministers responsible for education, science and technology have agreed on the establishment of an Education, Science and Technology Fund.
The minister also said the ministers have requested the AU Commission to combine the Africa Science Technology and Innovation Fund together with Education Fund into a single Education, Science, Technology and Innovation fund.
“We believe that this fund will contribute towards the improvement of Africa’s competitiveness in the 21st Century, with skilled and well-educated workforce, state-of-the-art and well-equipped laboratories to ensure that science can contribute to bringing solutions to the problems that Africa is facing,” he said.
Dr Tumwesigye said innovation platforms will benefit from building the requisite infrastructure.
“The time surely is ripe to support a decisive shift in the leadership, governance, and funding of African research and innovation,” he added.
