India has more mobile phones than toilets: UN report
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COMMENTS 
Far more Indians have access to cell phones than to a toilet and basic sanitation, says a new UN report. India has around 545 million cell phones, enough to serve about 45% of the population, but only about 366 million people, or 31% of the population, had access to improved sanitation in 2008
More people in India -- the world’s second most crowded country -- have access to a mobile telephone than to a toilet, the lack of which seriously impacts human health, the environment and the economy, according to a new UN study on how to reduce the number of people without adequate sanitation.
“It is a tragic irony to think that in India, a country now wealthy enough that roughly half of the people own phones, about half cannot afford the basic necessity and dignity of a toilet,” said Zafar Adeel, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.
“Popular education about the health dangers of poor sanitation is also needed. But this simple measure could do more to save lives, especially those of young people, improve health and help pull India and other countries in similar circumstances out of poverty than any alternative investment. It can also serve as a very significant boost to the local economy,” he added.
The recommendations of the United Nations University (UNU) are meant to accelerate the pace of reaching the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water and basic sanitation.
If current global trends continue, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) predict that there will be a shortfall of 1 billion persons from that sanitation goal, by the target date of 2015.
“Anyone who shirks the topic as repugnant, minimises it as undignified, or considers unworthy those in need should let others take over for the sake of 1.5 million children and countless others killed each year by contaminated water and unhealthy sanitation,” Adeel said.
Among the nine recommendations are suggestions to adjust the MDG target from a 50% improvement by 2015 to 100% coverage by 2025; and to re-assign official development assistance equal to 0.002% of gross domestic product, to sanitation.
The UNU report cites a rough cost of $300 to build a toilet, including labour, materials and advice. “The world can expect, however, a return of between $3 and $34 for every dollar spent on sanitation, realised through reduced poverty and health costs and higher productivity -- an economic and humanitarian opportunity of historic proportions,” said Adeel.
Source: The Economic Times, April 15, 2010
PTI, April 15, 2010