Joining Forces to Combat Protracted Crises: Humanitarian and Development Support for Water and Sanitation Providers in the Middle East and North Africa

The search for ways to improve our collective response has led the World Bank, UNICEF and the ICRC to publish a new report today called, “Joining Forces to Combat Protracted Crises: Humanitarian and Development Support for Water and Sanitation Providers in the Middle East and North Africa.” It is based on case studies from the field, as well as inputs from the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA) and multiple water and sanitation service providers.

This report highlights five pernicious problems that are typically experienced by water supply and sanitation (WSS) service providers operating in protracted crises: (1) inadequately governed water resource management; (2) aggressive competition from alternative providers (e.g., tanker trucks) undermining network services run by WSS service providers; (3) the paralysis of high-tech wastewater treatment plants; (4) escalating energy costs of off-grid generation; and (5) the cashflow crunch that occurs as service provider costs jump and revenues fall.

These problems, the report argues, emerge from a "new" humanitarian crisis layered on top of "old" development challenges. This layering of humanitarian crisis on top of development challenges transcends traditional notions of a phased "handover" from humanitarian to development actors. Saving lives must be done while stabilizing WSS service delivery — albeit under some of the most challenging circumstances in the world.