Sanitation Infrastructure in India: The Health

Effects
Drew Flanagan Slot F World Cultures Mr. Ball

Indias ability to become a world leader and have a commanding

presence in the global economy is questioned by many analysts and
reporters

because

of

the

governments

unreliability,

poor

infrastructure, a poor healthcare system, and many other third world

issues. Although these popular thoughts are true, Dr. Mohammad
Akram states, poor sanitation is something that not only affects the
health of the people of the country, but also affects the development of
the nation.1 Many people do not consider the general health of the
people as whole and how quickly a sick/diseased population could
bring down the growth of the nation. Recently, Jim Yardley of the New
York Times wrote on Indias lack of infrastructure, stating, Gurgaon,
located about 15 miles south of the national capital, New Delhi, would
seem to have everything, except consider what it does not have: a
functioning citywide sewer or drainage system.

India's lack of

sanitary infrastructure affects the health of Indians. Also, affect the

health of other industries. The price tag to evolve the sanitary
infrastructure is hefty, but the health affects could be greater. Poor

1 Akram, Dr. Mohammad. Sanitation, Health and Development Deficit in India: A

Sociological Perspective. January 2013(accessed March 31, 2015).
2 Yardley, Jim. In India, Dynamism Wrestles With Dysfunction. June 8, 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/world/asia/09gurgaon.html?pagewanted=all
(accessed March 31, 2015).

sanitary infrastructure could be a matter of life or death, sick or

healthy, streets or piles of waste.
Lack of sewers and methods to dispose waste has put Indians at
a greater risk to be infected with germs and feces from the waste.
According to a report on the Economic Impacts of Inadequate
Sanitation in India, about 88 percent of diarrhea is attributed to
inadequate sanitation, poor hygiene, and unsafe water supplyOnly
half of the diarrheacases in children are treated at a medical
facility.3 Furthermore, the report states that only half of diarrhea cases
are treated in a medical facility showing that once this condition is
contracted it is very difficult to find treatment. With adequate
sanitation infrastructure, Indians will have more clean drinking water
and learn better hygiene. In reality, a report by Rajesh Kadian states,
only 23 percent of Indians have safe drinking water because of
inadequate spending on related subjects like hygiene and sanitation. 4
Indians are becoming sick due to the sparse infrastructure in a
country with little healthcare opportunities to begin with. According to
a report on the sanitation in urban Indian cities, Sanitation brings the
single greatest return on investment of any development intervention
for every $1 spent on sanitation at least $9 is saved in health. 5 Fixing
3 Write Media. Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India. Flagship, Marc P.
DeFrancis, 2011(accessed March 31, 2015).
4 Kadian, Rajesh. "Health Care." Encyclopedia of India, 2006: 174-179.. "Health
Care." Vol. 2. Compiled by Encyclopedia of India. 2006.

5 Marshal, Forbes; Dasra; Omidyar;. "Squatting Rights: Access to Toilets in Urban

India." 2012(accessed March 31, 2015).

the sanitation infrastructure would help improve the general health of

Indians, but also relieve the hospitals of diseases and conditions that
could easily be fixed through proper infrastructure. Also, it is critical for
the Indian government to develop infrastructure because the effects
will be noticed immediately. As stated above, the investment will be
well worth it. Although infrastructure is very expensive to develop,
healthcare is even more expensive to fund and opportunities to receive
care are scarce in India. According to Dr. Mohammad Akram, on
Sanitation Development in India, Sanitation is the first step towards
achieving the goal of public health. But public health system is very
weak in India and sanitation could hardly attract the attention of
government policy makers till the last decade of the past century. 6 Dr.
Mohammad emphasizes the need for better sanitation as a way to
improve the overall public health. Although he does not mention the
need for better infrastructure in this quotation, he recognizes the
problem and he is trying to develop solutions. Also, he is reiterating
how important sanitation is to create a public health base line. He is
trying to communicate that sanitation would allow the government to
take a big burden away for the already crowded and difficult healthcare
system. Dr. Mohammad is prioritizing sanitation over healthcare
because it will relieve the amount of people seeking help allowing the
system to develop with less constant pressure.

6 Ibid.

The under investing in sanitary infrastructure to dispose of waste

could hurt India in the future as the nation experiences many
transitions and becomes a more commanding world leader. According
to a study by the World Banks South Asia Water and Sanitation Unit
in a report by Dr. Mohammad Akram, 240 billion rupees are lost every
year

because

of

the

inefficient

infrastructure. 7The

sanitary

infrastructure is hurting the nation in other fields in addition to the

healthcare industry. Furthermore, the people are not gaining from this
lost business that would/could have influenced their economy. These
points and many others are emphasized by the Council on Foreign
Relations 8, which recently wrote an article exercising the effects on the
poor infrastructure in general. A report by McKinley and Company in
April 2010 projects that, Indias urban population soaring from 340
million in 2008 to 590 million in 2030. And this urban expansion will
happen at a speed quite unlike anything India has seen before.

This

statistic many create disasters in Indias larger cities as sparked by the

report. With denser populations, the waste is going to increase in those
concentrated areas. Without proper infrastructure all the waste is going
to build up at a more rapid rate possibly causing more Indians to be
exposed to diseases. The government will need to build infrastructure
7 Ibid.
8 Xu, Deina, and Eleanor Albert. Governance in India: Infrastructure. October 1,
2014. http://www.cfr.org/india/governance-india-infrastructure/p32638 (accessed April
3, 2015).
9 Shirish Sankhe, Ireena Vittal, Richard Dobbs, Ajit Mohan, Ankur Gulati, Jonathan
Ablett, Shishir Gupta, Alex Kim, Sudipto Paul, Aditya Sanghvi, Gurpreet Sethy. India's
urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth. April 2010. x

to service the growing demand as it expands. If this is not done, it

could be difficult to uproot and set aside areas of land for these
systems. Many problems are a chain reaction from the urbanization
and lack of sanitary infrastructure the cities currently have.
The health effects and impacts of the little sanitary infrastructure
are truly alarming because all 1.2 billion people needs to go to the
bathroom and all 1.2 billion people need a safe and healthy way to
dispose of waste. Although India is very far behind in sanitary
infrastructure and this will set the nation and the health of its people
back, building infrastructure can have positive effects. It could put
many Indians to work, it could limit the traffic in healthcare facilities,
and it could help the Indian government involve struggling Indians get
on their feet. Additionally, a new statistic by a Dasara report show that,
sanitation projects designed with full participation from women are
five to seven times more successful than those that focus only on men.
It is vital to acknowledge the distinct role of men and women and
involve them both as important actors, stakeholders and change
agents

for

improved

sanitation.

10

Investment

in

sanitary

infrastructure will allow the Indian government to eliminate many

problems with one pipe.

10 Ibid.

I have completed this assignment in accordance with the Newark

Academy Honor Code.

Bibliography:
Akram, Dr. Mohammad. Sanitation, Health and Development Deficit in
India: A Sociological Perspective. January 2013.
http://www.sociologyofsanitation.com/honbleguests/sessionspeakers/sanitation-health-and-development-deficit-inindia-a-sociological-perspective/ (accessed March 31, 2015).
Kadian, Rajesh. "Health Care." Encyclopedia of India, 2006: 174-179.
. "Health Care." Vol. 2. Compiled by Encyclopedia of India. 2006.
Marshal, Forbes; Dasra; Omidyar;. "Squatting Rights: Access to Toilets
in Urban India." 2012.
Shirish Sankhe, Ireena Vittal, Richard Dobbs, Ajit Mohan, Ankur Gulati,
Jonathan Ablett, Shishir Gupta, Alex Kim, Sudipto Paul, Aditya Sanghvi,
Gurpreet Sethy. India's urban awakening: Building inclusive cities,
sustaining economic growth. April 2010.
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/urbanization/urban_awakening_in_in
dia (accessed March 31, 2015).

Write Media. Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India.

Flagship, Marc P. DeFrancis, 2011.
Xu, Deina, and Eleanor Albert. Governance in India: Infrastructure.
October 1, 2014. http://www.cfr.org/india/governance-indiainfrastructure/p32638 (accessed April 3, 2015).
Yardley, Jim. In India, Dynamism Wrestles With Dysfunction. June 8,
2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/world/asia/09gurgaon.html?
pagewanted=all .