Swachh Bharat Mission game changer for public health, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality, as he shared a research that highlighted the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission.

In a post on X, the prime minister said improved sanitation has become a "game-changer" for public health in India.

"Happy to see research highlighting the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission. Access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality," Modi said on X.

"Clean, safe sanitation has become a game-changer for public health. And, I am glad India has taken the lead in this," he added.

He shared a link to a research paper on "Toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Mission and infant mortality in India", published in the British weekly scientific journal 'Nature'.

The report said toilet construction increased dramatically across India following the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014. The post-SBM period in India exhibited accelerated reductions in infant and child mortality compared to the pre-SBM years, it said.

The Swachh Bharat Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the central government on October 2, 2014, to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management.

The report also said that based on regression estimates, the provision of toilets at scale may have contributed to averting approximately 60,000 to 70,000 infant deaths annually.

It added that the implementation of transformative sanitation programmes can deliver population health benefits in low and middle-income countries.