WATER,SANITATION AND HYGIENE IN INDIA

India has a limited amount of water, sanitation and hygiene on a daily basis. Therefore, lack of these resources leads to disease and death.

Diseases, defecation and lack of sanitation facilities

India is one of the most populous countries in the world, with more than half living in the suburbs. Access to sanitation and hygiene in India is low due to the country’s vast population growth and its limited water access.

Open defecation

• Nearly half of Indians defecate in the environment, which pollutes the water and is the number one cause of death associated with diarrhea in children. Every year 117,000 children under the age of five die from diarrhea as a result of unhygienic environment and polluted water.

• Research indicates that a little over half of India’s population washes their hands after defecation. Only 38 per cent of people wash their hands before eating and as little as 30 per cent wash their hands before handling food. Young children are most susceptible to diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections; yet, using soap to wash hands can reduce the likelihood of contracting these illnesses.

• Nearly 600 million people do not use toilets, and as a result, their waste enters the environment, which leads to a higher likelihood of water contamination and diarrhea. Children who suffer from diarrhea are more susceptible to malnutrition and other illnesses, such as pneumonia. Malnutrition afflicts nearly 50 per cent of children.

• Nearly 10 per cent of countryside households discard waste properly, while people leave more than half of the waste out in the environment or put it into the trash. As little as six per cent of children under the age of five use sanitation facilities.

• For adolescent females, it is necessary to provide the essential facilities, products and education to allow for proper menstrual hygiene. Many girls are likely to not attend school due to the lack of seclusion in the sanitation facilities. Other times, females feel discomfort when there is no facility available at home.

The Water Crisis

Water Crisis In India

Nearly 200,000 Indians pass away each year as a result of insufficient accessibility to consumable water, while 600 million people are water-stressed due to the limited availability of 1,700 cubic meters of water yearly.

Research published in June 2018 predicts that India will undergo an acute lack of availability of water within two decades. The report approximates that the need for water will duplicate the obtainable supply by 2030.

The Government’s Partnerships to End Open Defecation and Increase Sanitation Efforts

In 2014, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, began advocating to enhance cleanliness efforts by October 2019. Since he announced this objective, there has been significant progress in making clean water and hygiene amenities available.

In 2014, the amount of people living in agricultural areas who defecate openly has decreased from 550 million to 320 million. Overall, clean drinking water and proper sewage disposal have improved from 39 per cent in October 2014 to over 90 per cent in August 2018.

Hygiene

UNICEF Action endorses the federal and local governments in providing water, sanitation and hygiene in India. UNICEF’s Child’s Environment Programme advocates for the government’s Total Sanitation Campaign, which has the goal to enhance the availability and utilization of sanitation facilities. The National Rural Drinking Water Programme works to implement clean water for every family in India; the Child’s Environment program collaborates with Integrated Child Development Services to ensure that proper hygiene facilities are present in schools.

USAID collaborates with India’s government to implement healthful towns by growing access to safe water and cleanliness. Together, USAID and the Government of India assess and distinguish various models to enable consumable water and toilets, which they can put into effect for various localities.

Swach Bharat (Clean India) 

India has launched a five-year Swachh Bharat (Purity India) program to eradicate open defecation by 2019. USAID encourages the Commission to educate others about these issues and to take action from the public and government officials.

The overall goal of USAID is to implement technologies for access to affordable, safe, clean water. The organization works with the public to create health facilities, as well as to avoid defecation in the environment and to promote hand washing.

In 2017, 300,000 citizens had access to water, sanitation and hygiene in their homes. As a result of community efforts, 25,000 communities have stopped defecating in the environment, while 175,000 people have access to clean, drinking water.