World Bank addresses water crisis in MENA

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World Bank Water addresses MENA crisis
World Bank Water addresses MENA water crisis

Washington DC, 14 September 2022 (TDI): World Bank Water team announced that to address the water crisis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), interventions that safeguard the most vulnerable people and foster resilience are required.

Furthermore, this includes making investments that are focused on people and safeguarding livelihoods infrastructure, and water resources preservation and sustainability. This is shared in a tweet by the World Bank Water’s official account.

Global Water Stress

Global water stress is already at exceptionally high levels in 17 countries, which are home to 25% of the world’s population. Climate change is hastening this issue. Migration is more affected by a lack of water than by an excess of it.

Moving ahead, in the next years, it is anticipated that rainfall shocks, which occur when rainfall is considerably above or below the long-term in the region.

Apart from this, it would be the primary factor influencing water-induced migration. The impact of dry rainfall shocks on out-migration is five times greater than that of wet rainfall shocks.

Also Read:  World Bank pursues rainwater-harvesting in Yemen

Additionally, over 85 percent of those impacted by rainfall variability live in low or middle-income nations. These are the ones that bear the effects disproportionately on the developing globe.

Besides this, by the end of this century, scientists predict that 700 million people will be impacted by droughts that are getting worse in the MENA region.

Water Migrant Concept

A “water migrant” is a concept that is excessively generalized and unsupported by the data. In actuality, the poorest people frequently lack the resources to move, despite the fact that doing so would enhance their prospects and standard of living.

Aside from that, migration in response to water shortages differs greatly depending on national affluence, with citizens of poorer nations moving four times less frequently than those of wealthier nations.

Moreover, a triple trifecta of water shortages, dwindling economic opportunities, and a lack of resources to relocate to areas with better prospects might befall these trapped communities.

Adding to that, water shocks have an impact on people’s movement patterns as well as the abilities they brought with them.

Along these lines, with substantial policy ramifications for recipient cities, labor migrants from low-precipitation regions resolve a 3.4% wage gap at their destination and typically have lower educational and skill levels.