53 Percent Of Indian Households Defecate In Open: World Bank

“Open defecation lies at the root of many development challenges, as poor sanitation and lack of access to toilets impact public health, education, and the environment,” said Jaehyang So, Manager of the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Project.

A World Bank working paper released earlier this year found that children exposed to more faecal germs don’t grow as tall as other children with less exposure. Studies have shown physical height is an important economic variable reflecting health and human capital.

However, differences in average height across developing countries are not well explained by differences in wealth, according to the report.

In particular, children in India are shorter, on average, than children in Africa who are poorer, on average, a paradox called “the Asian enigma,” which has received much attention from economists. Studies indicate a 5 year-old girl in India to be around 0.7 cm shorter than her counterpart in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Within the triad of causes, food, care and environment, these papers provide additional evidence that inadequate sanitation is one of the important contributors to malnutrition, particularly in India,” said Bert Voetberg, Acting Sector Manager, South Asia Health, Nutrition and Population.