Experts and equipment: The IAEA programme in 1965

Nearly 100 projects are being assisted by Agency experts and equipment in 38 countries under the 1965 programme to be financed from Agency funds, which the Board of Governors approved at its meeting in February, together with four other countries where projects previously approved extend into 1965. In addition, further work is being financed under the UN Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance, including several important regional projects. Under the Agency's long-term programme, it is desirable that all types of technical assistance, whether training, research, or expert advice, should be combined as far as possible. Each country will therefore be asked, in respect of its 1966 programme, to make its requests for experts, equipment, fellowships, scientific visits and research grants as a single submission. The Agency then prepares a country programme of technical assistance, in collaboration with the Government. The number of requests for experts and equipment continues to grow year by year, and it has not been possible to finance them all. This increase is largely because a number of Member States have now set up research reactors and established a nucleus of laboratories under bilateral arrangements; they then turn to the Agency for assistance in developing their programmes. The estimated cost of experts and equipment being provided from Agency resources is $874 000 in 1965, of which $596 800 is for experts, and $277 200 is for equipment and supplies. The Agency also assists some Member States in making arrangements to receive technical assistance directly from other Member States. The work covers a wide range, with isotopes predominating; about 30 projects deal with production of isotopes, their applications in medicine, agriculture and hydrology, in food preservation and industry. A number of projects are concerned with various aspects of reactor construction and use; others deal with health and safety, instrumentation, special branches of chemistry and physics, and with raw material prospecting and processing. The assistance given to the respective countries, grouped by regions, is briefly summarized in this article