According to the IWA in a research study conducted in 2012 – 2014, funded by the governments of USA, UK and Australia,
“Many developing economies are lacking significant numbers of water professionals, and the necessary knowledge, experience and specialist skills to meet the rising demand for water and sanitation services. Low levels of access to and inadequate coverage of tertiary education institutes is a significant bottleneck to meeting human resources demands; female professionals are underrepresented, particularly in technical fields; operation and maintenance of water and sanitation systems are chronically neglected, with human resources inadequately allocated; education and skills development requirements have not been appropriately assessed; and the dependence on communities, volunteers and semi-skilled workers in rural areas is not sustainable.”
Rough estimates indicate that in 2015, 60,000 technical professionals are in need in Africa. While working diligently to address these issues by working with existing universities in Sub-Sahara Africa, we anticipate we will only be able to scratch the surface of the need. What is required is a paradigm shift in how education is addressed in the region.
The entire paper can be viewed here:
An-Avoidable-Crisis-Publication_WashGaps2015.pdf
