UNICEF has expressed concern over the deteriorating water situation in Libya, warning that around four million people will lose access to safe drinking water if immediate solutions are not found and implemented.
In the absence of radical solutions to the water problem, the Libyans will suffer from severe water poverty, UNICEF warned, as it called for maintaining distribution channels, wells, dams, and river stations.
A recent UN report showed that 17 out of 22 Arab countries, including Libya, live on the water poverty line, indicating that 12 countries are under this line, and 16 Arab states out of 33 countries around the world are at risk of drought by the year 2040.
The United Nations had previously warned of the danger of water scarcity in a report issued in 2021, which identified the Libyan state as living below the water poverty line at a rate of (88%).
The World Bank has attributed this to climate changes, rapid population growth, weak infrastructure, and the excessive use of water resources, especially in the agricultural sector, which consumes about 80% of the volume of water use in the Middle East and North Africa.
