SciDev.net: Science in Africa is falling further

It must be painful for reporters devoted to spreading the word on the value of science to the economies of poor countries to write that things are getting worse. I found this dispatch, at the notable SciDev.net non-profit news outlet, while scanning along looking for something else:

Semiu Babalola: Africa releases first survey of its own science ;

The report’s main message is that, if anything, budgets for science are falling in the very countries that need it the most. It’s a wide trend, one suspects, so why would one expect Africa to be different? Worthwhile context for this news story are accompanying links to other stories on the same general topic – including this one by David Dickson on the high hope that such surveys will spur more investment in science by the continent’s governments.

– Charlie Petit