Publication: Joining Forces to Combat Protracted Crises: Humanitarian and Development Support for Water and Sanitation Providers in the Middle East and North Africa
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Date
2021-02-05
ISSN
Published
2021-02-05
Author(s)
World Bank
ICRC
UNICEF
Abstract
Protracted crises in urban contexts of
the Middle East and North Africa region present a growing
challenge for water supply and sanitation (WSS) service
providers and, in turn, the governments and international
organizations that support them. The protracted nature of
crisis in countries characterized by fragility, conflict,
and violence (FCV) transcends conventional notions of (pre-,
during, and post-) crisis management. This report examines
five pernicious problems identified by WSS service providers
operating in protracted crisis in the Middle East and North
Africa region. The five problems are: (1) inadequately
governed water resources management; (2) aggressive
competition from alternative providers (tanker trucks),
undermining network services; (3) paralysis of high-tech
wastewater treatment plants; (4) escalating energy costs of
off-grid generation; and (5) the cashflow crunch as service
provider costs jump and revenues fall. The pernicious
problems are shown to stem from precrisis vulnerabilities
that have their origins in the rapid period of urbanization
and infrastructure expansion across the Middle East and
North Africa region. Humanitarian and development actors
should strengthen their partnerships in both anticipating
and responding to protracted crises. Strengthening
humanitarian-development partnerships to support WSS service
providers in these ways will address key aspects of
precrisis resilience building and also of resilience
(re)building in protracted crisis.
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Citation
“World Bank; ICRC; UNICEF. 2021. Joining Forces to Combat Protracted Crises: Humanitarian and Development Support for Water and Sanitation Providers in the Middle East and North Africa. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35122 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”