The program is urgently needed to reduce the figure of two billion people who currently lack what the United Nations calls a basic human right, said the director of the Canadian-based virtual academy that will administer the course.

"There isn't enough time to solve this huge deadly water issue by teaching the next generation," Richard Daley told AFP. "We have to educate the current generation so we can speed up the process."

The Tokyo-headquartered UN University expects 20 students, mainly current government officials or engineers, to enrol at each of the three regional centres in West Africa, South Pacific and Asia it is establishing for each 250-hour course.

The program, which if completed awards a diploma bearing the UN seal, is free of charge, but Daley admitted it would be only a small step in achieving a colossal goal.

"The scale of the whole issue is so enormous compared to this, that at times it seems irrelevant what we're doing," he said. "We're talking about providing water and sanitation to 300,000 (additional) people a day for the next 12 years."

TERRA.WIRE