The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has expressed its concern about the negative impact on Libyan children, due to the scarcity of water.
In a statement, UNICEF said: “We are concerned about not providing water to the children of Libya in the near future, as Libya ranks sixth in the world in terms of water scarcity.”
“It is time to celebrate World Environment Day to develop a comprehensive water strategy to address its scarcity, invest in renewable solutions, and cooperate with youth to accelerate climate action. UNICEF and its partners stand by Libya and youth in this journey,” the statement noted.
In January, the Japanese government announced a new contribution of $750,000 to UNICEF Libya. This is designated towards improving access to and the use of equitable and climate-resilient Emergency Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services. This will allow UNICEF to reach 125,000 people across the country, including 50,000 children.
The program, which is intended to run for 12 months, will strengthen the capacity of WASH systems to legislate, finance, plan, and coordinate climate-resilient critical initiatives for equitable, safe, and sustainable WASH services.
UNICEF will implement the program, in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Local Governance.
Japan is a long and valued partner of UNICEF in Libya, and UNICEF programs have received over $5 million dollars since 2020, benefiting multi-sectoral emergency response to conflict and to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNICEF Representative for Libya, Michele Servadei stated “UNICEF thanks the people and Government of Japan for the continuous support. Addressing water scarcity and improving water provision services remain a top priority for UNICEF in Libya. It is essential to repair non-functional systems in the most vulnerable areas, as well as build capacity for a climate-resilient water supply, which means attention to renewable energy and locally managed solutions.”
Notably, UNICEF has recently said that over 4 million people, including 1.5 million children will face imminent water shortages, if immediate solutions are not found and implemented.
It added that the prolonged conflict in the country has left the sector facing great challenges, leading to a significant decline in services. This has resulted in a severe deficit in the state budget to purchase equipment, operational materials, and spare parts for regular maintenance. The UN organisation noted that suppliers are also struggling to obtain letters of credit from banks in foreign currency to import equipment from outside the country.
