THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) launched in 2014 is reportedly on the verge of making the country open defecation free by the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
With the announcement of universal sanitation coverage likely to be made on October 2, the Thiruvananthapuram-based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) and Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies (AMCHSS) has come out with a study on the effect of SBM on health of under-five children in the country.
“The study titled ‘Covariates of diarrhoea among under-five children in India: Are they level dependent?’ found that SBM can potentially benefit the health of under-five children systematically,” said Mala Ramanathan, one of the coauthors of the study.
According to her, SBM’s success should not be evaluated in terms of the coverage and use only, but also on its impact on the health of the people. The study examined the impact of sanitation and safe drinking water on the health of under-five children using the prevalence of diarrhoea among them across districts.
“For that, we considered the data from District Level Household Survey-4, which covered 275 districts of 19 states and seven Union Territories. Also, we examined if improved water supply, improved sanitary conditions and mother’s hygiene practices affect the prevalence of diarrhoea among under-five children,” added Mala.
As per the study, in districts which had a high prevalence of diarrhoea, improved sanitation made a difference. While in districts with low prevalence, female literacy, a proxy for hygiene practices, and access to improved sources of drinking water may be more effective in reducing the prevalence of diarrhoea.
The study published in PLOS ONE, a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal based in the USA, was co-authored by Bevin Vijayan.