Water management in fragile systems building resilience to shocks and protracted crises in the Middle East and North Africa

Water scarcity is pervasive throughout the Middle East and North Africa and getting worse. Even before the recent political turmoil, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa were struggling to manage their water resources sustainably and to expand water supply and sanitation services efficiently. Now conflict has combined with weak institutional performance and contributed to an intensification of water challenges and a deterioration of water services. A new World Bank-FAO joint discussion paper finds that institutional failures to address water-related challenges can act as risk multipliers, compounding existing situations of fragility. But improving water management can contribute to building resilience in the face of protracted crises.