India, Urban Sanitation, and the Toilet Challenge（印度、城市卫生和厕所的挑战）.pdf

Research Brief RTI Press September 2013 India, Urban Sanitation, and the Toilet Challenge Myles F. Elledge and Marcella McClatchey Much of the world’s population is in dire need of improved sanitation, but it remains a neglected priority. The United The Sanitation Challenge Nations Millennium Development Goals include a global • More than 40% of the world’s population lacks target of a 75% improvement in sanitation coverage by 2015, improved sanitation facilities, and India’s urban but with current progress rates, this target is one of the most sanitation coverage rate is only 50%. inaccessible.1 Currently, 2.5 billion people do not have access • Consequences of poor sanitation are devastating on to improved sanitation worldwide, and nearly 1.1 billion human health and the environment. 1 resort to open defecation. Open defecation poses significant • Many urban areas provide access to toilets, yet often health and environmental risks. Each year, 1.5 million children upkeep is lacking, septage is not well managed, and die from diarrheal disease, and in India, diarrhea kills one sewerage is discharged untreated. 2 child per minute. Open defecation also creates vulnerability, particularly for women and girls who experience a loss of dignity or are exposed to abuse and harassment while defecating in the open. Improper waste management can