The UK Space Agency has announced £3.4 million of new funding for ten projects that back UK academics using space to tackle global development problems from the spread of malaria to human trafficking and forced labour.
One of the projects backed by the cash injection will see UK academics at the University of Nottingham apply Earth observation technology from satellites to Uganda’s anti-human trafficking and forced labour efforts.
Among the other projects being backed are space-based solutions that will help protect wildlife habitats in Kenya and another that will improve resilience to flooding in Bangladesh, which is suffering the most prolonged monsoon rains in decades.
Science Minister Amanda Solloway commented on the announcement: “From flooding to climate change, around the world people continue to be affected by crises that are having a profound impact on their countries’ economies and their lives.
“These ten new projects have the potential to provide solutions to the world’s biggest development problems by using the latest and most high-tech space technologies such as satellites, and help improve millions of people’s lives in developing countries.”
The £3.4 million funding comes from the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme, which is designed to use UK space expertise in satellite technology and data services to deliver solutions to real-world problems across the globe.
Projects aim to help developing countries while building effective partnerships that can lead to growth opportunities for the UK space sector.
