While our world is being transformed by rapid developments in ‘new’ technology, nearly one-third of humanity continues to be deprived of the benefits available from technologies centuries old. Northern markets rather than Southern needs increasingly determine what scientific and technological advances are developed and for whom. We urgently need to reclaim science and technology for the public good as well as private gain if we are to meet the poverty targets of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. However, rather than simply applying technologies to poverty, we need to help poor women and men access useful knowledge so that they can choose and use appropriate technologies.
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