YAOUNDE, Aug 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The Middle East and North Africa region loses about $21 billion each year because of an inadequate supply of water and sanitation, the World Bank said on Tuesday, warning urgent action is needed to prevent ripple effects on stability and growth.
Deaths due to unsafe water and sanitation in some parts of the region, particularly countries affected by conflict, are higher than the global average, it added.
"Water productivity – in other words, how much return you get for every drop of water used – in the Middle East in general is the lowest on average in the world," said Anders Jägerskog, a specialist in water resources management at the World Bank and one of the report’s authors.
Water governance – in particular, water tariffs and subsidies – must also be addressed, he said.
Such policies lead to excessive use of already scarce water supplies and are not sustainable, said Jägerskog.
Another challenge is that more than half of the wastewater collected in the region is fed back into the environment untreated.
"Along with better water management, there is room for increasing the supply through non-conventional methods such as desalination and recycling," Guangzhe Chen, senior director of the World Bank´s global water practice, said in a statement.
Improved water management could bring considerable financial returns, the report noted.
Egypt, Syria and Iran – which have the largest proportion of irrigated land in the region – are the countries that could benefit most, it added.
(Reporting by Inna Lazareva; editing by Megan Rowling.