UNICEF and the Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) have trained 177 local mechanics on borehole repairs across Kaduna State.
The training, which covered participants from 22 local government areas, is aimed at improving access to safe water and sustaining rural water facilities.
Speaking in Kaduna, RUWASSA Director of Water Supply, Joel Yanet, said the initiative was necessary to address challenges facing the state’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector.
He said more than 2,000 water facilities were built under the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN II) programme, stressing that trained personnel are needed to keep them functional.
“Facility caretakers will handle routine maintenance, while local mechanics will undertake complex repairs to restore failed boreholes,” Yanet said.
Yanet disclosed that over 2,000 hand pump boreholes are currently broken across rural communities in Kaduna and require urgent rehabilitation.
He said trainees would carry out practical repairs on 10 solar-powered boreholes and 10 hand pump boreholes in Chikun Local Government Area.
The RUWASSA official added that UNICEF would rehabilitate 395 more boreholes after the training to improve access to safe drinking water.
According to him, the programme will increase water coverage, reduce waterborne diseases and improve the health of rural residents.
UNICEF WASH Specialist, Theresa Panma, said the training was designed to strengthen local capacity for maintaining community water facilities.
“This partnership will help communities continue accessing safe drinking water instead of relying on contaminated rivers and ponds,” she said.
Panma noted that children are among the worst affected by unsafe water, particularly through diarrhoeal diseases, making reliable water supply critical to their wellbeing.
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