Doctors and researchers are cut off from the world – and each other
CAIRO: Dr. Hala Badawi is the president of one of the country’s largest research institutes, and yet, her office doesn’t have a computer.
If she wants to send an email, research the latest online medical journals or email a colleague, she has to leave her desk, head upstairs and turn on the library computer. Because of funding issues, it’s the only PC with internet access in the entire building.
While the internet has become an essential research and communication tool for scientists all over the world, simply getting online is still a major headache for many working in Egypt’s research sector.
Worse, Egypt scientists aren t commuting with each other and it s inhibiting their work, doctors say.
“When I need results of patients, you have to go back and find the reports – it’s very difficult, says Badawi, president of Imbaba’s Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, which is devoted to investigating endemic afflictions like urinary infections and hepatitis.
On the shelf behind Badawi’s desk, a half dozen or so framed awards and plaques sit gathering dust – most of them date from before the 1980s.
And as other developing nations like India and China gain technological know-how and tap into international research networks in Europe and the US, Egyptian scientists are finding themselves increasingly out of the loop.
Three years ago, the government pledged to interconnect Egyptian scientists on one computer network, says Dr. Badawi. It has yet to be completed, meaning Egypt’s scientists are not only incommunicado with international networks, but also with each other.
Recently, Badawi was researching lime disease online when she came across the work of Hadia Bassim, a researcher working at Ain Shams University. It was her first exposure to Bassim’s work even though their offices are only a few kilometers apart.
“She’s working on lime disease but her results aren’t published yet, says Badawi, noting that publishing in international – the lifeline of international research discourse – costs on average about LE 5000 per article.
To encourage publishing in international journals, the government offers a partial subsidy of about LE 1000.
“No, it’s not enough, but it’s a start, she says. “When you have limited funds, you have limited ideas. Any Egyptian scientist working in Europe has very good results, because they have good resources.
Similarly, lack of communication often results in wasting the small financial resources available, says Dr. Esmat Abdel Ghaffar, vice president of research at the National Research Council.
While the NRC has a limited budget – about LE 6 million for a staff of over 5,000 – much of the research being completed at its mammoth headquarters in Dokki is being duplicated only a few kilometers away at Cairo University.
“Our new minister [Hany Mahfouz Helal] is talking about reform. One of our main suggestions is that we have to follow a unique body that can coordinate, activities between different research centers across the country, she says.
“The NRC has the same instruments as those used at Cairo University. In the US, for example, there are area restrictions [on instruments] and they’re the richest country in the world.
To help better integrate Egypt’s research and development sector into the global scientific community, the German government is collaborating with local affiliates on a year-long initiative.
“[Egyptian scientists] tell you they don’t have access to international journals. They’re not really connected to the international scientific community, Christian Huelshoerster, director of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), told The Daily Star Egypt in a recent interview.
“If we think it’s possible to integrate gifted Egyptian scientists into the global community . then that’s the main purpose. If we come up with a list of five or six good projects which can work alongside German scientists, then we’ll be happy, he said.
