Health and sanitation underpin a healthy India.

Rural Missions and Impact

• The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Grameen and the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) have significantly transformed India’s sanitation and water system.

• The SBM has a significant impact on public health, averting over three lakh diarrhoeal deaths from 2014 to 2019.

• The JJM ensures every rural household receives clean drinking water through a tap connection, reducing infant deaths and child deaths.

• The Sujal and Swachh Gaon campaign has galvanized communities, with thousands of villages declared Swachh Sujal.

On the Ground

• Sanitation and water are the first line of defense in public health, protecting communities from disease, women from indignity, and children from lost opportunities.

• More than 80% of India’s rural households have tap water connections.

• Over 96% of villages have been declared as Open Defecation Free (ODF Plus).

• Over 5.07 lakh villages have solid waste management systems, and 5.23 lakh villages have liquid waste management systems.

• Women are not just beneficiaries, but also water testers, sanitation entrepreneurs, and local leaders.

The Journey to Health

• The journey to health is the journey to dignity.

• A toilet brings privacy. Clean water brings opportunity. Waste management protects the environment.

• The journey to health is the outcome of converged action across water, sanitation, nutrition, education, and rural development.

• India’s model is not insular, it is global.

• Every rupee invested in WASH yields manifold returns in health, productivity, gender equity, and environmental sustainability.