Kampala — The African Water Association in cooperation with the World Bank Institute and the National water and Sewerage Corporation are setting up an academy to address water challenges in the region.

The African Water Academy, whose country of location is yet to be agreed upon, is being set up against the background of the weaknesses in the current approaches to capacity building and management in the water and sanitation sector.

Speaking at the opening of a two-day regional workshop on African water Leadership and Change Management last week (June 5) at Uganda Management Institute (UMI), the Secretary General AFWA Mr Sylvain Usher said water and sanitation is one of the critical elements of infrastructure that impacts on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

"Apart from formal water engineering training that attempts to look at water in its unbundled form like water resources, production and distribution, other forms of training have looked general infrastructural issues without considering the peculiarities of water management," Mr Usher said.

NWSC Managing Director Dr William Muhairwe said while significant formal training has been going on in various academic institutions with the intent of improving staff capacities to manage water issues, problems of water still persist in many categorical forms, especially on the African continent. Mr Muhairwe also AFWA vice president, said an African academy could be a solution to these challenges.

"We have problems everywhere in the water industry and all talk about whether we can reach the MDGS. Let us put the academy in place so that people can come up with tangible ways of changing the face of the water industry," Dr Muhairwe said.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges.

They include among others eradicating poverty and hunger by 2015.

In his key note address on water leadership development, a senior official from the World Bank Institute Mr Atem S. Ramsundersingh said the World Bank supports the establishment of the academy.

"World Bank Institute is ready to help you but don't wait too long, Mr Atem said. Mr Atem urged the AFA member countries to speed up the process before NovemberWater and Environment Minister Ms Mary Mutagamba said currently only 60 percent of African population has access to improved water and sanitation services.

"This means that approximately 210 million people in urban areas will need to be provided with access to water supply services if the international coverage target of the MDGs for 2015 is to be met," Ms Mutagamba said.