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Access to clean sanitation facilities is a basic human right and it is important to safeguard the rights as it constitutes human well-being, dignity, and privacy. The health issues related to open defecation are vast and these impacts can be both acute and chronic.
According to the reports published by UNICEF and WHO, approximately 4.2 billion people defecate in the open regardless of good sanitation being provided, thus threatening the environment and overall human health. This not only impede social and economic development but also physical and mental well-being and disrupts the overall aesthetics of nature. Studies show that lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation has a direct negative influence on the psycho-social well-being of people. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a national project was launched to combat the issues related to open sanitation and improve overall sanitation in the country by 2019.
This paper focuses on the possible infection of water-borne diseases as a result of open defecation and the possible spread of coronavirus via feces. It also highlights the security challenges women and girl children face while they attend to basic sanitation needs. Transgenders are also subjected to harassment due to social stigma, looked down upon and their basic right to sanitation is often violated. The paper discusses different policies of India related to sanitation in India and its subsequent mapping with SDG 6.2.
Keywords: Dignity, Privacy, SDG, Open Defecation, SARS-CoV-2 Virus, Psychosocial Stressors, sanitation, water-borne diseases.
