Bridging the sanitation gap: Progress and inequality in Arab countries of the MENA region

Abstract

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face water scarcity concerns and challenges to treating wastewater and providing sustainable and equitable sanitation services to the over 500 million people living in 17 identified countries. This study evaluates trends in sanitation access, the percentage of wastewater treated versus collected, equity in service access across wealth quintiles, and the sustainability of services using per capita wastewater production data. The findings reveal that while there have been improvements in access to safely managed sanitation services from 2000 to 2022, the current rate of progress is insufficient to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 by 2030 in 13 countries. Notably, although wastewater is often safely collected, less than 50% is safely treated in seven of the eleven countries with available data. The study highlights significant disparities in sanitation access, with wealthier populations having better access to basic services, while poorer communities experience higher rates of open defecation. Additionally, the projected increase in wastewater production due to population growth and the push for universal access to safely managed services will require substantial improvements in treatment capacity. These insights are crucial for policymakers, underscoring the need for resilient infrastructure to achieve SDG 6.2 by 2030 while addressing ongoing equity and sustainability challenges in the region.