We are living in unprecedented times, and science organizations from around the world must more actively support improvements to people’s lives globally, especially in the Global South. This is one key message in a recent Science editorial by TWAS President Quarraisha Abdool Karim.

The article, titled 'Commit to the Global South,' appeared in the 16 June 2023 issue of the magazine and also includes a section about TWAS and some of the other organizations the Academy works with:

Earlier this year, I was elected to serve as the president of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Established 40 years ago as the Third World Academy of Sciences, it has envisioned sustainable development in vulnerable regions of the world through scientific solutions in research, education, policy, and diplomacy—endeavors that long preceded the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework. Over the past four decades, TWAS and other global organizations such as the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, the InterAcademy Partnership, and the International Science Council have strengthened the science base in developing countries by supporting training and capacity building through strong South-South and North-South collaborations. For example, there are currently more than 700 TWAS fellowship students working to ward graduate degrees locally in the Global South.

The editorial also stresses that "Global North-South and South-South partnerships that harness science and technology" are key for empowering Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

You can read the full editorial here https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj1621.

Giovanni Ortolani