International assistance to Africa: statement prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency for presentation at the third Session of the Economic Commission for Africa

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ECONOMiC

AND

SOClAL COUNCJL

Distr • GENmAL B/CN .14/108 16 Fobrunry 1961 ORIGINAL: :1:NGLISH

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ECONOMIC COMMISSION, FOR AFRICA Third Session

Provi si onaI agonda i t^ern 7

INT~ATIONAL ASSIST.u~CE TO AFRICA

Statomont propared by the International Atomic Ehcrgy Agency for prosontntion at tho Third session of t.he Economic Commission for Africa

61 - 497

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E/CN.-u/loB

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INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO, AFRICA

- Statement prepared by the International Atomic Ener'gy Agency 'for presentation at third session of the'

Economic Co~mission for Afrioa

Last year, at the second session of the Economic Commission for Africa, the representative'of the Ihternational Atomic Energy Agency gave a brief account of the Ageneyts functdons and of its potential role in the African continent.

It ~s not the intention to once mor-e give such a summary. but it. does appear·

useful to very briefly call attention,-t⁰ s orne of the activities ':of 'the' Agency that may be of particular interest to the members of EGA, inclu~ing ..the many who have since joined.

The statement made last year dre~ a comparison between developments in Africa ,and those

in

^atomic ener~ - which have 'their ~xtreme' rapidity. in common.

This has_been ,borne out in the past twelve months but although developments in

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atomic science are continuing at the same rate and with bhem nevi practical uses are being, 'found aImost. constantly, t.he acbua'L applications lags.behind,s omevhat.,

This is not surprising_ Atomic energy, particularly a few years ago, was often hailed 'as a cure-all; now, on more s6ber contempl~tio~, it _~ssumes its pr-oper.yroport"ions of a very useful tool in man"s struge;le"for abetter life, better health, more food and mor-e knowledge rather than -as sufficient "in- itself

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to set'the world on the path towards the solution of its material ills.

less-developed countries that most need better health, more food and more

In the

knowledge, these primary needs must be and are being catered for first. And since for the most effi~acious use of atomic energy, certain basic presumptions

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must be met, a minimal infr~structurG should exist, thoro may be a temporary

"tGr~dency to relegate this technique to a second plan and to' l~~v'e'it at this stal,,> -- .to those ar oae that can make 2. morc dirGct usc' .of 'it, thereby.

postponing tho benefits thct, ind3ed~ atomic energy may bring ~nd,

again, widenin.~ the gap between the "dcvc l oped" and thelloss-developed nations.

In VThat Hay em a'tomfo _~nergy be of use, her-e and now, whero it

dOC3 the-most good?

NU018ar power for electricity production and industrial huat is at prGsont compe~iti·~e only where certain conditions exist; where the

'dom&nd"''VJ'arran·tis' the construction of a rolatively 'l~.rge powon plant' that can operate corrt muous Iy e:t ^0.. high Load and that is part of an integrated Glect~ic grid, and not too largo a ~~rt of that grid. Also, the cost of convontd ona'l fuel should bo high, to enable a choice to bo made infavour of nuclear' power st~tions~ .

There arc, signs, however, that in the not too distant future, with lurther tGchnical devolopment and d0crc~sing costs, this situation might shift in fnvor 'of nuclG~r powe~~ The Agoncy is engaged in studi8S of smalJ. ~nd ~3dilli~ size power r~actors of types suitable for use in

.IGss~-d.'3v01op(;ldar eae and is doing what it C?..n to promote the development

of such Lnsbal.La'tLons , Tho Lnf'ormat Lon exchanged at ^'8, conference held in Vie_~~a in S3ptoillber 1960 and the dat~ on costing yiolded ~t meetings 01 expe~ts sponso~ed by the ~.goncy, show that 'if the prcscn~ trends ' continuq, an incro~sG ~n the use of n~cl~~r'4Pow8r in the ~atter ye~rs

of this decade io prob~ble, at loast in rCG~rd to Inrg0 units; the p~ospects for economic USB of small nuclear' power plants appear to be o~ longer ~ange~ We ar~ preparing for that moment by assisting

Member States in their studies on tho economio· aspacta of power production within thG oV3r-all fr2"m~n'J')rk of economi,c d.eve Lopmerrt , taka.ng into

account available resources '~,nd existing needs and industri~l priorities dictated by them~ I refer in this connection to document E/CN.14/96 Add.19

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E/eN. _L~/108

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r-c Lati.ng to agonde i tom 13 (3.)'-I'!!1G'ro, undor )"'urt II, par-a 3, c t'~lG last p,3..~-,G, mcrrt.i on is mad e of 'GI--;3"ctric l'o~·!or pr-oduotLcn , ccnaumptdori- and ne~~s and of a'reviow of'dovolo]mcnts in tho fiGld of' nuclear' Gn3rgy. 'Having boon engr.gcd in i:li'$"'1'ork for acver-o.L Y0nrs n01'f'the

~geney wili b~ ha~py to as:ist ~C~'iil t~is ~0rk 0nd provide it with the-' informp..ticn' it may noqu'i.r-o ,

To.bo eff,0ctiv«~ suoh s tudd ea must be undertaken by the country:"

concerned. on' tho b'~,sis of'

a.

'f2.iriY'well :integrated'no.t.ional p01i0r ' program'. To,promote'this integration, 'the ~~BGncy tldviS0G Member

Statas'ori'thG. establishment 0f govGrnmont ~uthorities which cnn fulffl1 eo co-sor-dd.na'tLng and rc;gul:~tory:.funotion and thoreby prepare for tho' offe,etivG and scf'evuao of 6.tomic, energy.

: The-'ragulatory wGlrk'of tho './J.goncy is ':I~.,:?ortani; in view of tho

risk~ oreated'by almost all oper~tioris'involvingthe ^UDG of nuclear energy •.The ·lJ.gancy ove.Iua't ea --r8actors for'their' s2.Icty -and assists

in~their construciiori~an~ o~8r~tion ~ith this _ai~'in view; it is assisting Membdr'Governm0nts in drafting18g{slation regulating nuo'Lear- '·si"faty and itself'issue's manuals and rogulC'.tinns on tho safe.'he,ndling 'and. operC:'.tiol1 of ,me.teriLi.ls arid in:st011~tions1Ilhich can s cnve .as -the techrlfcal 'b2.sis of ~nationaI legislation and is followed in projects involv±ng Lgonoy assist~nce.

It '1"s a'lso i':,p:ort3:ht:that, ⁸⁸

carly

^'·as l-;os~ible, spcc1f-..lizod technicians and scio'ht:ists ar.e trni'n.od D..c;i1i n s t · tho t i.nevlh0n their serVice'S- are required in the ostablishmont of nucloar instal1~tionsi'Morc vlill 'he •Ba.id 'a.bout this'anon.' ^:.50 much,here', for nucLoar-

power:

In" .tbe' -short z-un, .'1J'~irtfcul3.rlY in ·the context of'_Afric~;t the

uses _'·of~ :ta'did:lsotope,s,,·:are' of:·morlJl, ,direct i:r<~ortance. I "e:>epect it is generally: known 'tlk"'tt in s'ci!,0nce 'and" 're'search radicis:)topos' have

~.lr~a:dy; j)roven ··to 'b~ ·6f::·1nc-stimabld va Iuo ana. 'that in ind:us~ry they'- have rasulted:-:in" huge '-savinf:'s.

- It· II't1jt be e tr-cased ,' 'however, "'the~t the- uae of'

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oisotopS:s'

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neither a separato sciencn nor a purpose in itself, it should rather'

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b3 SGon as a very usoful toel in ID8dicine, GnGino~ring,- ~griculturG,

et c, _to bo us cd by s c'i enti sts r.nd tcchniciBnS tri7..i.ned in t>oso goncr.?.l fields. f~ such, r~dioisotov~s c~n be of diroct Dractic~l USG in Lrrica, particular1y vrhcn '~j!)l~Gd ^GS tho :...gency is nO"11 J.Gl);liu:~ to apply them, to the special probloms of tropical di&0~S0S ~nd tro~ical agriculturo.

These uses of radioisotopes h~vo_b8on cnumer~ted on many occasions but some mc~Y be rG-omph0-si.zGd here.. Thus" ,thore ar o the many arplicationa for orop "improvement, e tud i.os. 9f ;fcrtilizor uptake, 'insoct tagging and thG control of _P3sts,such, as tho ,storilizctiQn,of'male insocta of'

PQrta~n species. Th~rG '?XG tho medic~l US~S, in diagnosis and therapy, ' which.:ca.n be J;>arti cul,-?crly fruitful in,,Gxisting medical:-centGrs as ad-' di tional tools. Thera is thJ USJ of'..Lsot opos in":·thicknoss and -quality t'3sting of coricr-c't e in h.ous o and roc.""d oonstruction, .and thc app.Lfca't f.on of tho ag6, detGrminQt,ion of r o cka~;'which can be of - considerable: help. .:

in gsological c~ploration~,~new·cnd promising usa of spoci~l interest to l~fric:t'with ~,its oncrmoue 'drid.-zon8s is in tho field-, of l1ydrology.

Th·3se~.examp'lus mey illustrO-te tho 4.ir,Cct a.p'plicc~bility of at.omdc energy in less-dGvelopod araas , The ;...goncy i's diroc,ting ..a C'.on-sid-erable·

p[~rt of' the resee;,,:,-ch i_t, suppor-t-s .towards tho-se US'3S, both by aw~.rd.ing

rosearch cont.ructe 011 those su-bjGots,'vTh0~C possi b l,e in 1'~ss-d.-evelopGd'

arGf'.S, and by making sp'~.ci_<:..I· rQsGn.rch GJ'I'?,nts.'

The :~gencyrS m.;thode in bringing the pet',cGful us as of :atornic energy to l~frica f'o LLow tho 1t ncs -bf'_ assi-stnnco cust omary in'the United Nations _f0,;mily",

In the first plac9, Vie have our- technical 0.ssist':-'.nc,e :program, f'Lnariced bofh ;frcm tho' L.€Jen,cy^fS ovn r0thor:-'limi ted fl.ln:1-s:,. and from

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~ rulc, tecl~ical,as~istc~cc'projucts follow,th0 'findings o~

i,lo-call,)d pr~liI:1in.:!.ryass-ist,....ncc missions: ba.Lanccd tee.rns of _GXpCTts

specializod in,v?xious fi~lds,of atomic Gn~gy, such as thu' usc of isotopGS in med.Lcfne and ?_C'ricul bur-e , nuc.Lear- :;owcr, geology of- nuclear raw

m3..teriaJ.s"" ."',nd admi:.nistr;lt.ion., The task of thGsc_, missions is to' acquire

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G. broad impressicn of tho atcmic cnJrgy requirements of the countries visited anu to giV8 gen0ral ~dvic~ on how to start an ntornic energy program, and to und er-t cke ccr-te.Ln USGful activities "rith the means

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~vailable and/oT tho assistance of the .,:"..genoy , Particular att.ention is paid to existing fBcilities that may be used and expanded for the use of nuclGar tGcruli~u05 and the full utilization of tools made

available under bil~tor31 arrangena~~B. The missions so far carried out i~ four contir..3nt,s have r'3sulted. in a. considerable amount .of technical assis~~nce cGing suppliod to the statGs in qttestion and in

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tho provision of uscf~l aJvioc to loc~l authoriti~s.

I:1 196::> a prelioj.nary aEsiste.nce mission visited the Ivory,

Coast, th0 Rn:puc~,ic of l~la.~.j" ~JIorocco, the Republic, of S.enegal, Sudan a:.:d.. Tunisia.

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th0 spring of 1961 we plan ^to dispatch.such a Tilinoion to a number- of oountr tcs in south-west ::l.frica, Dahomey, Chana., I,i ber-La , lTigr,~ia a:~,1 ' cne or two others, ,il1d wo'ho~o'

in

1962

to bo i~ a posi~ion to send a third one to.a number of

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.t:..g0:t::'C~·T "c 7. 8 c:r1:!.ca.:. assistance activities in L.frica under :1.ts o~;::. prof":'D-Ir.. fc:" tr;:'~-:':.l,~ca: aaei stunce , have. only ste.rtod rela-

ti.\:'"01:J- J:0.c..3:.1tly <.',::~d arG,. of COUTBG, s t i l l 1imi tede- Briefly, Morocco has 1,;0011. g':.V'':;:·l e.,':'~·',-lC0 o.i ~he possibilities of the recovery of

U'\:'c.::1:"~n ^frCi;:L phcc phr.te ^O:CGS. In 1961 this country will be visited

by an ~gGncy ex]o~t in ~hG ~pplication of radioisotopes in agriculture, who ~vi~l he Lp to >rGpa.r0 a program in agr Lcu I turnl rG6e~rch; some equipment

for Uf'G

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~~hi'J 'C'ro6raL1 1!il1 also bo provided. Sudan 1;'1ill r-oced.ve

~lihe ae sdat.anco c:( an exper-t in rCl'Vl mevterie..ls analysis and 1'1ill, be. supp.ld ed

"riJuh'so'~'o oqua pmcr__~o. Tt."-i--..i~, has r-ece rvcd tho visit of a~ e.&Tic,ultural chcrdc "; to n~sist in the irr'1.irod~ction.,of r-ad a.odsctope techniques in

cer·~ai~ r3s~arc:1 project,'3'J :.I..csista,ncG has e.Ls o been gr-arrt ed.. to the

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United Lra1 Republic in conn3ction with tho develo~rn3nt of the radio- isotoP9 centre in Cairo. Under the United Nations ~x~anded Program of

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Technical Lssistance, including the supplGmGnt~ryprogram for ~frica,

in 1961-62 assistance is being given to tho following l£rican states: Dahomey, .,Ghana, Mali, Morocco, ~'onego.l, Sudan, Tunisia and the Ilndt cd :...rab

Republic. 'In particular, Dahomey, Mali_t Ghana., Senegal, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia are receiving fellowships in subj8cts such as nuclsar raw

materials processing, metallurgy, radioisotope tochniQues, and the medical applications of isotopes. A number of experts is being sent in nuclear physics, radiochemistry and the rn0dical and industrial applications·of radio1sotopas. Several of the countriGs montioned are receiving equipment, in some cases of considerable valuo.

The promotion of training and education forms an essential

element in the ~gGncyls'actiVities. The ~gency is very much aware that the lack of trained scientists and technicians is, one of tho most pr3ssing problems in' a lnrge pa~t

of

the African continsnt, that training in nuclear s~ionce technology is only one aspect of the' many problems of that continent and that it is ossential that a program of training in nuclear science should be integrated in a

gener~l program of training and education. Accordingly, in coming years, the Agency hopes to cpply the various elements that go to make up its' o:lucational progrc.rn, particulD..rly as concerns the needs of .~frica.

Within the limits of the available means, we are thinking of a multiple approach along the follOWing linGS.

To assist in,the oreation of a scientific cadre with a thorough basic knowledge ·in nuclaar sciences,

we

^{plan to} ^nrran~e ^{visits of}

professors to African countries and al'lard falloi"7ships tOo train .specialists from those countries. This WOUld, in our viGw, be 'conducive to the

development of educBtional and scientifio institutions and help to meet the great need for teaching staff which exists at the university level.

To promote pr~ctical applications of radioisotopes , espeoially in medicine and agriculture (later in industry) the ~gency could help

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train students ~hro~d, ~s well ~s tvchnici~ns, to ~pply th8se new tcchniquas in Gxisting medical 0stRblishmcnts end agTicultural fecilitiGSa Somo of tha equipm3nt might b~ sUPDlcffientod by the :'..gency.

A pro;iminary exp'lora.ti cn H?S c~,rriod out by the L.fSencYJ which

h~s shown that at this st0ge G permanent regional nuclear scionc~

training cGntar may still be prern~ture and that individual regional training courses may suffice for some time to come. (It is noted that in 1960 the _~gcncy assisted in such ~ course in the usc of radioisotopes held in LeopoldVille)0

In the spring of the pr3SGnt year a regional course of two months duration in radioisotope techniques is bGing held in Cairo; it will troatsuch topics ~s isotope physics, chemistry and biology~ Again,

a~ the end of

1961,

^c. course in the applic~tion of r~dioisotopes in medicine will b8 held in tho United :~ab R0publico

In view of the consid0rable intorost that soems to axist in the possibility of 3stablishing r8gi(ini2.1 research centers s}}0cializing in the problems of tro~ical ~~frica, where also some training could be given, and of organizing rogional training courses for tcchnicie~s,

we are seriously considEring moans of undGrt~king such activities, in conjunction with the intGr~sted organizations. Ue are also aware that at a 1D.tGr stage the ...gcncy might aast s t in organizing na.ti ona'l centers for training specialists ~nd technicians.

In general, the ...·o..[;::.ncy is pr cpar ed to assist the oountries of Africa in croating technical f~cilities for tG~c~ing students and training spocialists in ~tomic energy ~~d within its ffi3ans, to help them procure equipment for such facilitiose So far, from

1958

to

1960,

79 fallowships were grD,ntod to ccndLda'tos from L.frica and a number is now being processed.

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Thus, by applying such me~ns as it has to promote the peaceful USGS

of atomic energy, the Agency hO~0S in the coming years to help spread the banefits of these new tochniques in ...f'r-dca and thereby make a contribution to the develcpmcnt of that continent.