The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is working with a variety of partners (Government, Donors, NGOs and Industries) in the Middle East and Africa to improve the living conditions of displaced populations, refugees and their hosting communities. One sector of cooperation is focusing on enabling widespread use of safely managed, sustainable sanitation services, contributing to positive health, economic, and gender equality outcomes for the world’s poorest.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the most water-scarce region of the world. As population pressures in MENA increase due to population growth, which has more than doubled in the last 40 years, and with the outpouring of over 4 million refugees leaving Syria to more water scarce countries in the region, the demand and pressure on the existing, limited water resources and infrastructure has intensified. The impact of this growing water crisis is felt more prominently in Jordan and Lebanon where the available surface water is declining and the over-pumping of ground water, beyond natural recharge rates, is not only resulting in ground water depletion and lowering the water table, but also deteriorating its quality.

This looming crises in Jordan and Lebanon calls for measures to ensure water security and mitigate the environmental and public health risks due to the inadequate disposal of domestic and municipal wastewater and growing water scarcity.