— Reuters file photoPublished: Tue 5 Dec 2023, 4:25 PM Last updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023, 6:36 PMWater is life—yet the water crisis in the Middle East and North Africa continues to worsen without a viable solution in sight. A tipping pointAlthough we have been facing a water crisis for years, the situation is becoming more severe, exacerbated by sustained climate change-induced droughts and extreme heat. When there is no immediate access to water, girls miss school to fetch water for their families, and women’s time is usurped by water collection, hindering them from keeping a job. The water crisis and climate crisis as a whole demand that we strengthen health systems to address the many detrimental effects of climate change on health. Future at stakeA failure to address the water crisis and the climate crisis more broadly will inevitably result in regional conflicts over water, significantly hindering health and development and threatening the viability of entire nations.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 05, 2023 13:55 UTC