Assessing the effect of water and sanitation on health in India
Student name: Ms Ayushi Jain
Guide: Dr Seema Sangita
Year of completion: 2017
Host Organisation: TERI University
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Prashant Kumar Singh
Abstract: Despite the rapid economic growth in India, water and sanitation infrastructure remains underdeveloped. The inadequate water and sanitation is highly associated with diarrheal disease which leads to morbidity and mortality among affected population. This study examines water-related and sanitation-related variables that influence the prevalence of diarrhea in India, also extending the analysis to trends and patterns over time and urban-rural divide.
The data for this study is extracted from two rounds of nationally representative- India Human Development Survey (IHDS) carried out in 2004-05 (n=215,754) and 2011-12 (n=204,569). The study uses both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Other demographic, socioeconomic and contextual level confounders are included to examine the net effect of water-related and sanitation-related variables on diarrhea.
The results suggest that less than half of the households have a supply of piped water and about two out of five households had improved sanitation facility. Study estimates that about 2.7% of population suffered from diarrhea in last one month prior to the survey in 2011-12 which was affected by drinking water source, place of drinking water source, adequacy, purification of drinking water, type of toilet facility and excreta in the surroundings of a household of an individual. The outcomes of this study gives direction to the very ambitious ongoing „clean India movement‟ to address the social determinants of health, particularly in the case of the higher burden of childhood deaths due to diarrhea.
Keywords: Water, sanitation, diarrhea, health, urban-rural, open defecatio.
