THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 on the Water-Scarce Arab region

COVID-19 has sounded a wake-up call on the importance ofensuring access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene for all toprotect health and welfare. Handwashing with soap and water is now globally understood as the best prevention against COVID-19transmission. What seems like a simple recommendation, grounded in basic hygieneprinciples, becomes much more complicated in the water-scarceArab region where over 362 million people live with less than 1,000cubic metres of fresh water per person per year, and 18 of the 22 Arabcountries are considered water scarce.