By Levy Masiteng
The Water Research Commission (WRC) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) will on Monday launch a five-year partnership aimed at strengthening research and innovation in water, sanitation and hygiene.
This as South Africa faces growing pressure on water and sanitation systems from climate change, rapid urbanisation and infrastructure constraints.
The partnership, implemented by UKZN’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Research and Development Centre (WASH R&D Centre), will focus on developing and scaling solutions including water-efficient sanitation systems, non-sewered sanitation technologies, wastewater reuse and circular economy approaches.
The emphasis will be on improving service delivery in underserved communities.
“This partnership strengthens the link between science, innovation and implementation. By positioning the UKZN WASH R&D Centre as a strategic extension of the WRC’s research ecosystem, we are deliberately investing in solutions that can be validated, derisked and scaled to support South Africa’s sanitation and water security goals,” WRC Chief Executive Officer Dr Jennifer Molwantwa said.
The WRC said it has committed a substantial amount of funding over five years, with co-funding from UKZN, to support initiatives including postgraduate training, curriculum development for short courses, capacity building for practitioners and municipalities, innovation extension services, and joint knowledge dissemination activities. The partnership will be overseen by a Joint Steering Committee comprising representatives from both institutions.
“The WASH R&D Centre embodies UKZN’s vision of engaged scholarship. Through this partnership with the WRC, we are strengthening our ability to generate practical, policy-relevant solutions while training the next generation of water and sanitation professionals for South Africa, the continent and the world,” said Professor Anil Chuturgoon, UKZN’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation.
UKZN said its WASH R&D Centre — formerly known as the Pollution Research Group — has a track record in sanitation technology testing, decentralised wastewater systems, faecal sludge management and socio-technical research, supporting evidence-based policy, regulatory development and adoption of innovative sanitation technologies by municipalities and industry.
The institutions said the partnership aligns with national priorities including the National Development Plan and Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, by 2030.
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