Friday, October 03, 2014

Can space-conquering India sort out its earthly toilet problem?

India may have set a record in space with its recent Mars mission, but it also remains the world leader in a distinctly less glamorous category: almost 600 million of its people still defecate in the open - more than in any other nation.

It's not just about all the poo that's lying out there.

Lack of adequate sanitation costs the economy an estimated $54 billion a year, and the practice puts people at risk from cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid - not to mention the women and girls who risk violence, or even death, at the hands of vicious men when they leave home to defecate in the open.

India has launched various campaigns over the decades to improve its people's access to sanitation, but its progress has been less than impressive, and half the population still has no access to a proper toilet.

Still, a wind of change does seem to be blowing in India, even if not for the first time.

When independence leader Mahatma Gandhi said in 1925 that "sanitation is more important than independence", he could not foresee that almost 90 years later, the prime minister would use his birthday, October 2, to launch a "Clean India" campaign and tell top officials to clean their ministries, including the toilets. Full story...

Related posts:
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  2. India brides leave husbands' homes for lack of toilets...
  3. India's anti-pissing tanker...
  4. India is the world's largest open air toilet, says minister...
  5. Girls drop out of schools in India because of lack of toilets...
  6. Indian court orders toilets to be placed in all schools...
  7. Lack of toilets costs India $54 billion annually...
  8. More mobile phones than toilets!!! India's sanitation crisis...

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