Participants drawn from over ten African countries came together in the western Kenyan town of Kisii for a UN-HABITAT sponsored training in basic skills in low cost water quality testing. The three day Training - of - Trainers workshop drew participants from towns and cities participating in both the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Programme and the Water for African Cities Programme. They were from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and Burkina Faso. The participants in turn developed action plans for implementation of town -level training programmes in their cities. Officially opening the workshop, the Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Victoria South Water Services Board, Eng. Michael Ochieng reminded participants that the provision of safe drinking water poses a serious challenge to water providers as a result of the rapidly growing populations in African towns and cities, with many residents, particularly the poor, resorting to the use of water from alternative, and often poor quality sources. “As service providers, it is our obligation to undertake periodic water quality monitoring in order to ensure that the water we supply to our consumers is properly treated,” he said.
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UN-HABITAT hosts training on water testing