665 million Indians still defecate in open: UN

Highlighting that safe disposal of faeces is critical for reducing the number of diarrhoea cases, United Nations stressed on the need for hygienic sanitary practices to combat the disease, the second greatest killer of children after Malaria.

A joint study by the World Health organization and UNICEF ‘Diarrhoea: Why Children Are Still Dying and What Can Be Done’ also pointed out that India has the largest number of persons that defecate in the open worldwide.

Out of a total of 2.5 billion people worldwide that defecate openly, 665 million belong to India. Some 88 per cent of diarrhoea deaths worldwide are attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.

The problem is further compounded by unsafe disposal of children faeces in developing countries, the study said. “It is a tragedy that diarrhoea, which is little more than an inconvenience in the developed world, kills an estimated 1.5 million children each year,” Ann M Veneman, UNICEF chief said.

The chief further noted, that though inexpensive and effective treatments for diarrhoea exist, in developing countries only 39 per cent of children receive the recommended treatment. The report also underlines that recent introduction of zinc tablets into treatment programs in India and Pakistan has helped children fight off diarrhoea more effectively.

It also states that washing hands with soap is the most cost effective intervention for reducing child deaths as it lowers the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by over 40 per cent.

The study also presents a seven-point plan to reduce diarrhoea deaths, which include: replacing body fluids to prevent dehydration, zinc treatments to build immunity, immunization against rotavirus and measles, improved water supply, sanitation and hand washing with soap.