Prof. Bernard N. Baatuuwie, Academic Programmes Coordinator at the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation, and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA), and Head of Department of Natural Resources and Geo-Information Sciences at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources of the University for Development Studies (UDS) participated in the official launch of the training curricula of the Global Sanitation Graduate School West, Central and Indian Ocean Africa Regional (GSGS RH WCIOA). The Academic Programmes Coordinator delivered his presentation focusing on governance and the academic programmes run by the UDS. He also highlighted on academic and short courses programmes supported by WACWISA.
The five (5) days workshop hosted by Institut International d’Ingénierie de l’Eau et de l’Environnement (2iE) in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso aimed at establishing a collabrative framewoek to advance sanitation education and innovation across the sub regions. Deliberations by the key partners and including , academia, policymakers, and practitioners, the workshop updated curricula to address critical challenges like climate change and inclusive urban sanitation and also strengthening institutional partnerships and collaborations for sustainable impact. With the Hub operational at Institut 2iE, the region is better positioned to develop skilled professionals, drive evidence-based solutions, and accelerate progress toward SDG 6, ensuring resilient and equitable sanitation systems for future generations.
The Global Sanitation Graduate School (GSGS) is an international platform for knowledge development and sharing in the field of sanitation. It was established in 2017 at the initiative of the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (Netherlands), with financial support from the Gates Foundation. Its main objective is to address the global shortage of qualified human resources capable of tackling complex sanitation challenges in a transversal and integrated manner. The GSGS primarily operates through postgraduate degree programs (Master’s and specialized Master’s) and continuing education courses that integrate technological, governance, financial, leadership, and socio-cultural dimensions. Since 2017, the Master’s program in sanitation has been implemented in over 55 institutions worldwide, in French, English, and Spanish. In West and Central Africa, the program is currently delivered by Institut 2iE (Burkina Faso), Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Université de Man, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé (Côte d’Ivoire), Université d’Ebolowa (Cameroon), the Institut des Sciences de l’Environnement de Dakar (Senegal), and the Centre for Water and Sanitation Studies (CeWASS) at Rivers State University (Nigeria).
To strengthen its impact in the sub-region, these institutions have been grouped, since May 2025, into a Regional Hub named Global Sanitation Graduate School Regional Hub for West, Central and Indian Ocean Africa (GSGS RH WCIOA), hosted at Institut 2iE. As part of the implementation of the GSGS RH WCIOA, an official launch and curriculum review workshop was held to update the training curricula in line with emerging sanitation challenges, including climate change and the concept of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS). The workshop was participated by regional government ministers, academia, national sanitation agencies, NGOs, sectoral programs and municipal leaders.
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Tony Akpene Klu
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