The African Union Commission participates in the JPO SATNAV Steering Committee in Brussels

The JPO SatNav Africa advocates the development of satellite navigation services (GNSS/SBAS) in Africa, based on the European solutions EGNOS and Galileo

The African Union Commission and the European Commission co-led the 2nd Steering Committee meeting of the Joint Programme Office (JPO) Sat-Nav from Mach 8 to 9, 2023 in Brussels.The Commission was represented by the Department of Infrastructure and Energy (DIE) and the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI). The later was represented by GMES and Africa Programme Coordinator, Dr Tidiane Ouattara.

The JPO Sat-Nav  Africa advocates the development of satellite navigation services (GNSS/SBAS) in Africa, based on the European solutions EGNOS and Galileo. A component of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), the JPO promotes the implementation and use of GNSS/SBAS in various market segments. 

Dr. Ouattara expressed the AUC’s appreciation of the work done by the JPO. He called for the deployment of the system to areas other than aviation – for example, earth observation and ICT, to strategically align with existing programs.   

Navigation and positioning is one of the four pillars of the African Space Strategy (2019), along with earth observations, satellite communication and space science and astronomy. Used together, earth observation and positioning allow the creation of geographically localized products that are highly useful in a wide range of development-related economic sectors. This is particularly the case in Africa, which has important needs in terms of accurate data. Hence the GMES and Africa focus areas: the monitoring and management of water and land, and the management of marine and coastal resources. 

Many key intervention areas of the African Union would also benefit from the combined use of these technologies, including infrastructure and energy development, green and blue economies, health, etc. Satellite Communication, on the other hand, contributes to the cable transmission systems for the transportation and delivery of products to users. Satellite Internet is about to offer an even greater capacity to reach users wherever they are, especially in rural, remote or landlocked areas.  

BM/TO/AF

More info

The African Union Space Strategy, https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/37434-doc-au_space_strategy_isbn-electronic.pdf

The GMES and Africa Support Programme 

G&A is a programme to avail European infrastructure and facilities to Africa, under the Copernicus programme. It promotes the development of local capacities, institutional, human and technical resources for access to and exploitation of earth observation-based services on an operational basis for sustainable development in Africa.The programme is funded by the Pan-African Programme. Its second phase (2022-2025) is worth EUR 25 million. The specific objective is that African organisations, policy-makers and practitioners make more effective use of Earth Observation data to develop relevant operational information services at national, regional and continental levels.

Copernicus is a leading provider of Earth observation data. It provides services and information on a free and open basis to monitor Climate change, Land change-use, Marine environment, Atmosphere, and to ensure effective emergency response and security. It helps save lives at sea, improves our response to natural or man-made disasters, it allows farmers to better manage their crops among many others.

The Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES)
JAES was adopted in 2007 at the Lisbon Summit, which brought together the Leaders of 27 European and 54 African States as well as the Presidents of the continental Institutions.
The purpose of the Joint Strategy is to take the Africa-EU Partnership to a new strategic level with a strengthened political dialogue and enhanced cooperation at all levels. The JAES reflects the Euro-African consensus on values, joint interests and common strategic objectives.
The Joint Africa-EU Strategy strives to bring Africa and Europe closer together through the strengthening of economic cooperation and the promotion of sustainable development, with both continents living side by side in peace, security, democracy, prosperity, solidarity and human dignity.

More https://www.africa-eu-partnership.org/sites/default/files/documents/eas2007_joint_strategy_en.pdf

The JPO
The mission of the JPO is “As a Pan African specialized ‘entity’, to support the implementation of seamless and sustainable satellite navigation solutions in all sectors with aviation as a main driver”. As such, the Programme is contributing to economic and social development in Africa, in line with AU Space Policy and Strategy, as well as the Agenda 2063
http://www.satnav-africa.com/images/satnav-africa/PressRelease/Brochure%20JPO_En.pdf
http://www.satnav-africa.com/

Galileo/EGNOS

Galileo is Europe's global satellite navigation system. It provides more accurate and reliable positioning and timing information for autonomous and connected cars, railways, aviation and other sectors. Galileo has been operational since December 2016 when it started offering initial services to public authorities, businesses and citizens.

The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is Europe's regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that is used to improve the performance of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), such as GPS and Galileo. EGNOS provides “safety of life” navigation services to aviation, maritime and land-based users over most of Europe. The positioning information is so precise that aircraft can use it to land safely. All services provided by EGNOS are fully operational and the number of users is growing. EGNOS is also essential for applications where accuracy and integrity are critical but is also beneficial to numerous market segments, including road, rail, maritime, surveying/mapping, location-based services and agriculture. http://www.gsa.europa.eu/gnss-applications/segment-pages

The SBAS Sectoral Applications and Benefits

http://www.satnav-africa.com/index.php/en/gnss-and-sbas-at-a-glance/sbas-sectoral-applications-and-benefits

The SBAS Initiatives in Africa

http://www.satnav-africa.com/index.php/en/gnss-and-sbas-at-a-glance/sbas-initiatives-in-africa

They are several SBAS initiatives in Northern, Eastern, Southern Africa. The African Union Commission (AUC) conducted a continental cost-benefit analysis (CBA) on SBAS introduction in the region, considering existing initiatives.