UN releases dire warning about water scarcity in Middle East and North Africa
Water scarcity is so bad in parts of Yemen that it has led to displacement, a UN official said.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released Tuesday some alarming information about water scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa
“Water scarcity is only going to get worse in this region,” said UNICEF’s regional climate change adviser, Chris Cormency, in a press release, citing the effects of climate change.
UNICEF noted several statistics to illustrate the degree of water scarcity in the region. They said "nearly half of the water is unaccounted for or lost in leakages” due to weak water systems that do not adequately preserve water being pumped.
An August 2021 report from UNICEF stated that the region’s groundwater began to be over-exploited to meet agricultural needs starting in the 1970s when motorized pumps were introduced. The problem has since been exacerbated by “inadequate governance arrangements, including weak water resource management policies and a lack of regulation,” according to the report.
