Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA’S deputy delegate to Unesco Dr Immolatrix Geingos, was on Monday elected as the Unesco chairperson of the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC) for the next four years.
She is the third African to be elected to this position. Geingos was selected for the position because of her technical expertise and familiarity with Unesco procedures.
She said her election to the position is critical to Namibia, as the country is in the process of reviewing its science and technology policies as well as its governance system.
“Bioethics is one of the areas that we need to strengthen, especially in the framework of health and medical sciences. That is one of the things that I will drive home,” she said.
Fully aware of the unprecedented challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, Geingos added that bioethics is as relevant and pertinent as before the pandemic.
“It is ethics that will determine how the rapid advancements in science and technology will impact our people and our societies,” she said.
According to Geingos, it is the responsibility of the 36 Unesco member states and the IGBC to make the work of these committees count, by providing constructive input, and by linking the committee’s outputs to policy making.
Geingos, who has been at Unesco for six years, holds a master’s degree in biotechnology law and ethics and a PhD in international law. Her election coincided with Unesco’s 75th anniversary.
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