Symbolic picture only. , Photo credit: The Hindu
“Had the Centre’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a nearly ₹3.6 trillion undertaking to provide piped potable water across India, it would have been able to avert nearly 4,00,000 deaths from diarrhoea, WHO A modeling study by (WHO) and commissioned by the Ministry of Jal Shakti,” reported June 9.
Additionally, it would avoid 14 million DALYS (disability adjusted life years) from diarrhea, save approximately $101 billion and 66.6 million hours every day that would otherwise have been spent – mainly by women – collecting water , the study authors noted . A DALY represents the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health and is a way to account for years of life lost due to premature mortality (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) due to prevalent cases. Disease or state of health in a population.
Currently about 12.3 crore rural households, or 62%, have water connections, up 3.2 crore or about 16.6% from 2019 when the scheme was launched. The Center has claimed that it will achieve 100% coverage by 2024. A fully functional tap water connection is defined as a household that has access to at least 55 liters of potable water per person per day throughout the year.
The WHO study is an extrapolation and does not count the number of diarrheal deaths at current levels of coverage. It also doesn’t account for the degree of contamination in the piped water now being provided, pointed out Dr Rick Johnston of the WHO and an author of the study. Hindu, For the data needed to arrive at its estimates, the authors used population data from the United Nations, the 2018 National Sample Survey and water quality data collected by the JJM.
“At present potable water connection is being given every second. Five states viz; Gujarat, Telangana, Goa, Haryana, and Punjab and 3 union territories – Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli and Puducherry have reported 100% coverage. Himachal Pradesh at 98.87%, Bihar at 96.30%, are also set to achieve saturation in the near future,” Vinny Mahajan, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, said at an event to publicize the report. “Investing in water and sanitation has multiple benefits, including economic, environmental, quality of life and health. Every dollar invested in sanitation interventions returns $4.3 in reduced health care costs.”