Half of India lacks basic sanitation; 1 in 3 can't acess a toilet globally

If Indian women who don't have access to such facilities stand in a queue, it would stretch around the earth 4 times

About 56 per cent of India’s population had no access to basic sanitation needs in 2015, according to a report by WaterAid.

If women who don’t have access to such facilities stand in a queue, it would stretch around the earth four times, said the State of the World’s Toilets 2017.

In 2015, India had the largest number of people without access to basic sanitation needs. But programmes such as the Swachh Bharat Mission are expected to improve its position among top countries that have reduced open defecation and improved access to sanitation, said the report. Though India has made considerable progress in sanitation in the past three years — with around 52 million toilets being built between October 2014 and November 2017 — there was still a long way to go.

The report said globally, one in three people still have no decent toilet facilities, demonstrating how women and girls bear the brunt of this global crisis. “For more than 1.1 billion women and girls, this injustice results in an increased risk of poor health, limited education and harassment,” the report said.