HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AS THE FOCUS OF RURAL WATER AND SANITATION PROGRAMS IN AFRICA

Abstract

Increasingly, emphasis is being placed upon effective human resources development (HRD) as the most important contributor to program sustainability in the rural water and sanitation sector. HRD is a process involving the facilitating agency, the program beneficiaries, and the local government sector development planning agencies. In most African countries, these groups are represented by a foreign development-oriented organization, a community, a water and/or sanitation agency, and a planning and finance ministry.The three main elements of HRD generally comprise training, institutional strengthening, and sector linkage establishment activities. There is considerable overlap and interaction between these main elements, but in general conventional training is concentrated upon the community and the responsible water and sanitation agency, whereas institutional strengthening and sector linkage establishment is concentrated upon the responsible water and sanitation agency, and the planning and finance ministr...