The COVID-19 presents a greater global challenge with detrimental health and socioeconomic impacts. Throughout the fight against the COVID-19, the world has relied on Science Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) as a frontline source of ideas and actions. The key facets of STI have been applied in different ways to combat COVID-19 including medical solutions, awareness creation, and information dissemination towards behavior change.

The seminar presented emerging contextual evidence on the role of technologies and innovations given that the pandemic has led to a proliferation of innovations and has accelerated applications of technologies including digitization in ways that we never imagined. But some of these technologies are far from evenly distributed across the world and might leave African countries leapfrogging and catching up. Striking the right balance will be crucial when it comes to safeguarding the potential of promising – albeit immature – technologies to serve the public interest. This seminar explored through a panel session how ST&I could play a catalytic role in solving and managing the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as future pandemics and propose key areas for strengthening moving forward.

The second series on Science Technology Policy and COVID was held on 25th September 2020. The seminar outputs include;

• Concept Note
• Technical Report
• Info Brief
• Seminar Recording

Emerging contextual evidence on the role of STI in the fight against COVID-19|Nora Ndege

Reflections on how Senegal harnessed STI during COVID-19 Pandemic |Moderator Dr Antoine Faye

ST&I in the fight against COVID-19|Insights from Panelists

Lessons for Science Policy|Dr Joel Onyango