The world has around 2.5 billion people who lack adequate sanitation but it has a great economic burden. Providing sanitation to citizens is a rewarding option but countries, mostly of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, are still struggling to provide sanitation facilities to its citizens, says the latest United Nations study.

“Doing nothing is costly. Every one dollar spent on sanitation brings a $5.50 return by keeping people healthy and productive,” says the report.  

“Let’s face it – this is a problem that people do not like to talk about. But it goes to the heart of ensuring good health, a clean environment and fundamental human dignity for billions of people – and achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs),” said UN deputy secretary general Jan Eliasson.

The study also mentioned that global economic gains from investing in sanitation and water are estimated at $260 billion per year. “Ending open defecation will contribute to 36 percent reduction in diarrhoea, which kills three quarters of a million children under five each year,” said UNICEF deputy executive director Martin Mogwanja.

According to the study, 272 million children lose school days due to diarrhoea every year. “Open defecation is one of the main causes of diarrhoea, which results in the deaths of more than 750,000 children under the age of 5 every year,” it said.

Due to poor sanitation facilities, India also has a huge economic cost to pay. According to the World Bank figure of 2010, inadequate sanitation pulls India of 6.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which comes around $53.8 billion. According to a study done by WHO and UNICEF in 2010, sanitation coverage in rural areas of India is 33 percent approximately.

“With just over a thousand days left for action before the 2015 MDG deadline, we have a unique window of opportunity to deliver a generational change,” said Jan Eliasson.

Read the study