ADDIS ABABA: June 3 (Ethiopian Informer) – The Climate Research for Development (CR4D) in Africa initiative on Monday announced the first cohort of 21 young African scientists who will receive up to 100,000 British pounds each to carry out demand-driven research in the areas of foundational climate science, application and engagement with policy, development and decision communities.
The grantees are said to be from Ethiopia, Benin, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Namibia, Uganda, Senegal and Zimbabwe were selected through a highly competitive research commissioning process, the Addis Ababa-based UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) disclosed.
The ECA, however, didn’t reveal the number of Ethiopians selected for the ambitious climate-focused financial grant.
The initiative was launched by the Climate Research for Development (CR4D) in Africa – an African-led initiative created through a partnership of the African Climate Policy Center of the ECA, the African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology, World Meteorological Organization, the Global Framework for Climate Services, and the World Climate Research Programme, it was noted.
The 21 grantees from different African countries are expected to get postdoctoral fellowship programs under the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).
They will also have access to bi-annual international networking and collaborative meetings, informal review from AAS’s network of senior fellows in diverse STEM areas, conferences relevant to early career scientists and support to their host institutions to achieve good financial grant practice (GFGP), it was noted.
The initiative is said to be an outcome of the African Climate Conference 2013 (ACC-2013), which was held in Arusha, Tanzania, and seeks to strengthen the links between climate science research and climate information needs in support of development planning in the continent’s key development sectors.