Joining forces to combat protracted crises: Humanitarian and development support for water and sanitation providers in the Middle East and North Africa

This report examines five pernicious problems identified by water supply and sanitation (WSS) service providers operating in protracted crisis in the Middle East and North Africa region. The five problems are:

1. inadequately governed water resources management;
2. aggressive competition from alternative providers (e.g., tanker trucks), undermining network services;
3. paralysis of high-tech wastewater treatment plants;
4. escalating energy costs of off-grid generation; and
5. the cash flow crunch as service provider costs jump and revenues fall.

For each problem, a dedicated chapter in the report puts forward likely root causes, researches how humanitarian and development actors with direct experience of operating in protracted crisis have helped WSS service providers tackle the problem, and recommends ways that both groups of actors can more effectively support WSS service providers to stem the rate of service decline. Each chapter begins with a summary of findings on each problem.