Dirty Water Stunts Millions Of Indian Children: Study
Sumaira FH Published July 26, 2016 | 02:00 PM
NEW DELHI,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th july,2016) - India is home to the world's largest number of stunted children due to a lack of toilets, dirty water and poor hygiene, according to a new study published on Tuesday. Despite high economic growth in recent years, India has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China and the Republic of Congo combined, with 48 million under the age of five -- about 30 percent of the global total, a WaterAid report said. Stunting is a form of malnutrition in which children are shorter than normal for their age and is largely irreversible after the age of two. If they survive, they grow up physically and intellectually weaker than their better-fed peers.
WaterAid says a lack of toilets and clean water are causing high levels of stunting in India. That is because high rates of open defecation lead to contamination that can spread disease and infection. Data collated by WaterAid showed that 140,000 children die every year from diarrhoea in India, while 76 million do not have access to safe water and 774 million live without adequate sanitation.
"India has the highest number of people in the world...
practising open defecation, which spreads deadly diseases and makes children more susceptible to diarrhoea and other infections," said Megan Wilson-Jones, WaterAid health and hygiene analyst. "So it is no surprise that so many children in India suffer from stunted growth," she added. Open defecation has long been a major health and sanitation problem in India, where almost 594 million people -- nearly half the population -- defecate in the open, according to UNICEF. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to clean up India since storming to power in 2014 and has repeatedly urged every household to have a toilet within four years to end the spread of disease.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Pakistan vows to bring to justice perpetrators, abettors of Bisham terrorist att ..
May 9 riots: SC allows conditionally to military courts to deliver reserved verd ..
Interior Minister arrives in Peshawar after Shangla suicide attack
OPPO Reno 11 F 5G: Setting New Records as Pakistan's Most Beloved Smartphone Lin ..
PCB dismisses FICA's claims of unpaid dues in PSL
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 28 March 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 28 March 2024
Niger says US to submit plan to 'disengage' troops
Venezuelan opposition registers unknown poll contender after obstacles
Van Aert breaks collarbone, ribs in Flanders fall
Russian attacks kill three as Ukraine calls for more air defence
Climate change is messing with how we measure time: study
More Stories From World
-
Meet China's first corgi police dog
5 minutes ago -
Singapore sees sharp decrease in PE investment last year
5 minutes ago -
China's role model selection for Q1 2024 kicks off
5 minutes ago -
Australians tighten belt as higher grocery prices bite: survey
5 minutes ago -
ChiNext Index closes higher Thursday
5 minutes ago -
China to improve management of midwife service
15 minutes ago
-
China to lift anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine
15 minutes ago -
Seoul bus drivers' strike ends with wage agreement
25 minutes ago -
Revolt at Ecuador jail where powerful gang leader escaped
25 minutes ago -
US-Israel rift heads for moment of truth over Rafah
1 hour ago -
Russian bombs turn Ukraine border village into 'hell'
2 hours ago -
At Bulgaria's border with Romania, Schengen remains miles off
3 hours ago