The Cost of Poor Sanitation in India

Sanitation is the most basic service for health and hygiene of masses . Yet somehow it is not , addressed as importantly as it should be .The severity of the Sanitation problem in India could be judged from the fact that hardly 33% population has sanitation facility available. In rural area percentage coverage is only 22%, however it is 59% in urban areas. (WHO/UNICEF Sanitation Assessment Report 2004). In recent years there is continuous progress in the sector, however a lot is required to meet the Millennium Development Goal on sanitation. Majority of the people defecate in the open. Open defecation defiles ecology, fouls water resources and causes stink in inhabitated areas. Of the estimated 2 million children who die from diarrhoeal diseases each year in developing countries, almost 600,000 die from sanitation related ailments alone. This disease is endemic throughout the world. Refugee populations and children suffering from malnutrition are among the worst affected.

The sustainability of water and sanitation services depends on many factors, including financial viability. The economics is complex and we are still learning about them throughout the world, through both successes and failures. The most important economic point is that failure to meet basic water requirements generates major social costs, both economic and financial. In 1970, water-related diseases cost an estimated $125 billion per year in direct medical costs and lost work time for sick people plus the (unquantified) social costs of lost education, family disruption and shortened life expectancy. A major water-related disease outbreak could cost far more in medical care and lost productivity than the universal provision of safe water and sanitation .

There has to be a 'war-like approach' to solve the Sanitation problem faced by India. It is the root of health and Hygiene. The poor sanitation is a costly affair for the population of India , as there more money to be invested to get free from the outcome of poor sanitation.