sharpeye

By Dr Arvind Kumar Absence of basic sanitation amenities force the people to urinate and defecate into open which exposes them to ridicule, shame, and, for women and girls, the risk of physical attack, marginalisation and stigmatisation. Furthermore, costs of treating water and sanitation related diseases drain national budgets and family finances.  About 2.6 billion people - 40% of world's population do not have access to adequate sanitation and this will become worse with the fast growing population, particularly in rapidly expanding urban areas. The provision of proper toilets could save the lives of more than 200,000 children in the world, according to the UN. The countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest numbers of under-five child deaths, high levels of under-nutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities. Moreover, over one billion people defecate in the open due to lack of proper toilet facilities.