The IAEA organizes fellowships, awarded through the TC programme, to provide young professionals and university graduates with an opportunity to develop hands-on experience, benefit from training courses or achieve academic accreditation related to the application of nuclear technologies. A core component of technical cooperation projects since the establishment of the programme, the IAEA has awarded nearly 40,000 fellowships since 1956. This year, two IAEA fellows, who underwent post-graduate training, have been appointed to senior positions in the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (NSRPA) of Sierra Leone. The NSRPA is the national regulatory body of Sierra Leone and manages the National Liaison Office, under the Ministry of Energy, which works closely alongside the IAEA to implement the TC programme.
John Jabati, the IAEA National Liaison Officer and AFRA National Coordinator for Sierra Leone, was recently appointed to the position of Executive Secretary and Head of the NSRPA. Mr Jabati was first employed by the NSRPA in 2006 as a Radiation Protection Officer after graduating with a masters’ degree in Physics at the University of Sierra Leone. In 2007, he was trained under the IAEA-supported Post Graduate Educational Course in Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources (PGEC) in South Africa. In 2011, Mr Jabati was selected for the two-year masters’ degree in Nuclear Science and Technology under the AFRA Programme, implemented by the Ghana School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS).
“The PGEC and master’s degree in which I participated gave me the relevant skills and knowledge that was needed for me to effectively perform my regulatory function. My knowledge grew in this field with time as I participated in various national and international events. Hence, our authorities deemed it fit to appoint me as head of NSRPA,” said Mr Jabati, who was officially appointed as NSRPA head in January 2018.
One of the challenges we face is insufficient trained human resources in the area of nuclear science and technology. We have taken some positive steps, but more needs to be done.
