Independence Day: Reiterating what WHO had recently said on Swachh Bharat Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the sanitation scheme is saving lives of 3 lakh Indians. The cleanliness mission will enable lakhs of children in leading healthier lives, he said while addressing the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of India’s 72nd Independence Day. Just days back, World Health Organisation (WHO) heaped praises on Prime Minister Modi’s pet-Swachh Bharat Mission saying if the scheme achieves the October 2019 target, it could avert up to 3 lakh deaths due to diarrheal disease and protein-energy malnutrition.
The mission was launched in October 2014. Under the sanitation scheme, the government aims to make the country defecation free by the month of October next year. Up till now, 69.4 percent of the target has been achieved by the government, the latest data shows. The international health body said the mission can be remarkable as the unsafe sanitation scenario in the country caused an estimated 199 million cases of diarrhoea each year.
The WHO also said that from an estimated 2 percent each year, the sanitation coverage has increased dramatically to over 13 percent between 2016 and 2018.
The WHO has also backed the latest decision by the government announcing extra budgetary resources to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore for construction of toilets.
The international body also said that if the mission could lead to 14 million more years of healthy life in the period mentioned if all sanitation services are used. The diarrhoea cases will almost be eliminated if the universal use of safe sanitation facilities is achieved, WHO said.
More than 4 lakh villages have been declared open defecation-free (ODF) till now by the government. However, the latest data shows Tripura, Goa, Bihar, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh are the states which still need to make progress in this regard.