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WATER EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTThe overall goal is to see that service delivery of rural water supplyand sanitation is improved in Nigeria through capacity developmentof stakeholders. To date, over 220 participants have benefitedfrom various training programmes including groundwater investigationtechniques; borehole maintenance and rehabilitation; drillingmachinery maintenance; installation and maintenance of handpumps; sanitation and hygiene; community mobilization; alternativewater sources; borehole construction and maintenance; andborehole drilling technology. Equipment comprising a drilling rig,compressor, service trucks, drilling accessories and groundwatergeophysical instruments for effective capacity development andresearch has been received from JICA under this programme.In order to address water resources challenges and support thedevelopment and management of water resources in Africa, the NewPartnership for African Development (NEPAD) has established centresof excellence for the science and technology of water in African subregions.However, for the centres to carry out their functions effectively,it is necessary to examine the capacity development needs of thewater resources sector in the subregions so that interventions can beimplemented based on emerging areas of need. This has necessitateda sector-wide approach for capacity assessment in the West Africansubregion. NWRI, as one of NEPAD’s centres of excellence in WestAfrica, was assigned to carry out a study aimed at identifying skillsand training needs in the Nigerian water sector. NWRI’s experiencein human resources capacity and skills assessments in Nigeria wasbrought to bear in conducting this study. The study’s relevance inhelping to reposition the Nigerian water sector towardsdelivering on the MDGs cannot be over emphasized. Theresults revealed that skills development in the Nigerianwater sector is mainly through in-service training, with fewutilizing further and higher education training. This couldbe attributed to the fact that, apart from those working inthe universities, polytechnics and research institutes, moststaff in the sector are rarely given the opportunity to go forlong-term training courses that will take them away fromtheir working environments for some time.RC-IRBM/NWRI is collaborating with UNESCOin the Hydro free and/or Open software Platform ofExperts (HOPE) programme. The steering committeeis composed of the African Ministers’ Council onWater, the Africa Water Resources Capacity BuildingProgramme, the Southern African Network of WaterCentres of Excellence and the United Nations EconomicCommission for Africa. The executive director/chiefexecutive of NWRI is a member of the committee.Through these projects and programmes, RC-IRBMand NWRI have strategically been integrating thecooperation of stakeholders in the water sector atnational and international levels. These endeavourssupport the effective utilization and management ofwater resources in the West African subregion and theAfrican continent.Images: NWRIA Youth Empowerment Programme field demonstration. Clockwise from top left: borehole pumping test; dismantling a submersible pump;women service the submersible pump; coupling the serviced pump before reinstallation[ 147 ]