Even though the central government announced the country open defecation free in 2019, there are still some places where access to safe sanitation is not available and people relieve themselves in the open. According to the NFHS-5 (2019-2020) data, only 77% of the population among the surveyed states used improved sanitation facilities.
Several studies have shown that open defecation has a direct link with stunting and malnutrition among children. The contamination of water and food due to open defecation leads to diseases like diarrhoea and intestinal infections among children. This results in poor capacity of absorbing nutrition among children.
According to the NFHS-5 data, around 32% children in India are stunted. In a recent RTI query the Union Women and Child Ministry estimated that over 33 lakh children were malnourished and over half of them fell in severely malnourished category. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar topped the list.
Recurring diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections are connected with nearly 50% of all malnutrition as a direct result of inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In order to reduce the rate of malnutrition and stunting in children, the government should focus on building sanitation facilities that will cover the excretal material and prevent it to re-enter the environment and eliminate the virus that infects residents in a particular locality.
The government should invest more in water, sanitation and hygiene services which could be the most cost-effective way of combating the stunting among children.
Malnutrition and stunting among children could be caused by multiple factors but lack of sanitation is a major reason. Access to clean drinking water, personal hygiene and environmental sanitation determine the prevalence of malnutrition or stunting among children. This is why the malnourished children are mostly seen among poor and marginalised sections of the society where lack of unsafe water and poor sanitation is a regular aspect.
Practice of toilet usage by all within the community in a locality is necessitated for the health of the children. The practice of open defecation even by a small section of people will put the children at risk of malnutrition and stunting. The Swachh Bharat Mission has brought significant change in terms of access to toilets by building over 11 crore toilets in rural households. The focus now should be sustainable sanitation practices which would result in positive health outcome for children.
Mission Paani, an initiative by News 18 and Harpic India, advocates access to clean water, safe sanitation and hygiene for all. Mission Paani creates awareness towards the efforts to ensure inclusive sanitation and hygiene for all.
You can be part of this revolution too and join the Mission Paani initiative.
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