Nuclear regulator unveils safety training in pact with universities
From left: Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority Board Chairman Omondi Anyanga, Director General James Keter and Deputy Director for Inspections Isaac Mundia during a demonstration at the KNRA National Laboratory in Oloolua, Kajiado County.
The government will on Monday (October 2, 2023), launch a special training programme to boost nuclear and radiation safety in Africa.
The post-graduate programme, targeting English-speaking countries, will be run by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KNRA).
The Monday launch at Kenyatta University will be led by State Department for Public Health PS Mary Muthoni and graced by host Vice Chancellor Paul Wainaina, his University of Nairobi counterpart Stephen Kiama and Multi-Media University’s Festus Kaberia.
Acting CEO of the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency Justus Wabuyabo and senior teams from the Ministries of Health and Education will witness the official launch.
Kenya was given the go-ahead to host the course after an inter-agency team of nuclear experts visited the country in August and assessed its readiness in terms of facilities and resource persons.
The team noted that Kenya has a number of public universities with fully-fledged departments already running nuclear physics and nuclear science and technology programmes, with equipped laboratories and lecturers with the requisite backgrounds.
KNRA Board Chairman Omondi Anyanga and Director General James Keter will present the authority's agenda for the programme, whose initial 22 beneficiaries will be 13 African countries that are part of the African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology.
Mr Keter said the five-month training is for professionals at graduate or equivalent level and aims to build the capacity of African countries to establish robust regulatory safeguards in nuclear and radiation safety.
"We are looking forward to a smooth start. This is an honour for Kenya as we are hosting the course for the first time. The closest the course has been running is in Accra, Ghana," Mr Keter told journalists in Nairobi ahead of the launch.
Keter added: "The journey towards the programme started 12 months ago. We will work with all stakeholders to deliver a comprehensive programme".
Apart from Kenyatta University, 10 other local higher education institutions and hospitals have expressed interest in taking a lead role in the programme, called the Post-Graduate Course in Radiation Protection.
Experts say it is designed to provide foundation training in radiation protection and radiation source safety and will consist of lectures, practical exercises, laboratory exercises, demonstrations and technical visits, and is fully premised on the IAEA standard syllabus.
Mr Anyanga described the course as a game changer. "We continue to position ourselves as a powerhouse in knowledge generation and sharing. KNRA will work tirelessly with various partners to ensure that the safety of people and the environment remains paramount," he said.
The IAEA, an affiliate of the United Nations, runs several other capacity-building programmes, including an Internet Reactor Lab, which gives students from Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia and South Africa online access to the facilities of a research reactor in Morocco for nuclear education and training.
The Kenya-led course, according to the IAEA, targets university graduates in physics, chemistry, life sciences or engineering with practical experience in radiation protection and the safe use of radiation sources.
