Question

Please explain the health benefits of eradicating open defecation

Please explain the health benefits of eradicating open defecation

Answer 1

Improving sanitation in India's villages, where three out of five people defecate in the open, has proved to be one of the country's greatest development challenges.Open defecation is the practice of people defecatingoutside and not into a designated toilet. The term is widely used in literature about water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) issues in developing countries. Open defecation causes public health problems in areas where people defecate in fields, urban parks, rivers, and open trenches in close proximity to the living space of others.

Eliminating open defecation is the main aim of improving access to sanitation worldwide and is a proposed indicator for sustainable development goals. Even if toilets are available, people still need to be convinced to refrain from open defecation and use toilets. Therefore, the need for behavioural change is critical in addition to the provision of toilets. A preference for open defecation may be due to traditional cultural practices or lack of access to toilets, or both.
Extreme poverty and lack of sanitation are statistically linked. Eliminating open defecation is said to be an important part of development efforts.[2] High levels of open defecation in a country are usually correlated with a high child mortality, as well as high levels of undernutrition, high levels of poverty, and large disparities between rich and poor.