Why in News?

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched first global guidelines on sanitation and health.
• These guidelines summarize evidence on effectiveness of range of sanitation interventions.
• They also articulate role of health sector in maximizing health impact of sanitation interventions.

Salient Features – WHO Guidelines:

• WHO’s Sanitation and Health Guidelines are aimed at securing health and wellbeing for everyone, everywhere by considering sanitation as the fundamental foundation of human health and development.
• These guidelines provide a comprehensive framework for health-protecting sanitation, covering policy and governance measures, implementation of sanitation technologies, systems and behavioural interventions, risk-based management, and monitoring approaches.
• They also identify gaps in evidence-base to guide future research efforts to improve the effectiveness of sanitation interventions.
• By adopting these new guidelines, countries can significantly reduce diarrhoeal deaths due to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene.
• For every US $1 invested in sanitation, it is estimated nearly six-fold return as measured by lower health costs, increased productivity and fewer premature deaths.