GS – II “Government Policies and Intervention for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation”.

• It is a 4 Day event a part of Swachh Bharat Mission, that brings together sanitation ministers and sectors specialists from around the world.
• The Event is organised by Ministry of Drinking water and Sanitation.
• It aims to share sanitation success stories and lessons from the participating countries and will culminate on October 2nd, 2018 (Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth year). As SBM enters its final year of implementation.

Problem’s in Open Defecation:

• It causes diseases, most common being diarrhoea, intestinal worm infection, Typhoid, Cholera, Hepatitis, Polio Etc.,
• In 2011, Infectious diarrhoea resulted in about 0.7 Million deaths in children under five years old and 250 million lost school.
• According to WHO in 2014 to be a leading cause of diarrheal death was open defection

Background:

• The SDG have envisaged as a ‘bold, Universal agreement to end poverty in all its dimensions and craft an equal, just and secure world – for people, planet and prosperity by 2030”.
• Realising the importance of water and sanitation towards the achievements of this vision has led to dedicated SDG on water and sanitation – the SDG 6, which aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.
• India has achieved a lot but have to work on a lot of issues through an intensive behaviour change campaign, the Swachh Bharat Mission, which has become a people’s movement.
• So far, the number of people practicing open defecation in rural India has gone down from 550 Million in 2014 to less than 150 million today.

About Swachh Bharat:

• It was launched in 2nd October 2014, aim to reduce open defecation to Zero by October 2nd 2019, as a befitting tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th Birthday.
• Since the Inception of this program, the rural sanitation coverage of India has increased significantly from 39% in October to over 90% as of September 2018.
• Over 78 Million household toilets have been constructed under the mission, as a result, 25 states / Union territories, over 513 districts and 5,04,316 villages have declared themselves as free from open defecation.

Water and sanitation for all: The Indian Context

• Mahatma Gandhi had once said, “One must care about the world one will not see”. This reflects India’s deep commitment to sustainable development. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi’s statement at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 clearly set the context for SDGs in India. He said:
• “Much of India’s development agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable Development Goals. Our national plans are ambitious and purposeful; sustainable development of one-sixth of humanity will be of great consequence to the world and our beautiful planet.”
• The thoughts of the Mahatma, reinforced by the Prime Minister of India, provide the foundation for implementation of SDGs in India. While all the SDG goals have been prioritised by the Government of India, there is an unprecedented focus on SDG 6.