Har Ghal Jal ? WHO acknowledges its impact

Har Ghal Jal – WHO acknowledges its impact

News: WHO has recently highlighted the substantial benefits of the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ program in India.

About Har Ghal Jal:
 Har Ghar Jal is a scheme initiated by the Ministry of Jal Shakti of Government of India under Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019 with the aim to provide tap water to every rural household by 2024.
 Currently, about 12.3 crore rural households, or 62%, have piped water connections up from 3.2 crore or about 16.6% from 2019 when the scheme was launched. The Centre has claimed that it will achieve 100% coverage by 2024.
 Five States including Gujarat, Telangana, Goa, Haryana, and Punjab and 3 Union Territories — Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Daman Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli and Puducherry have reported 100% coverage.

What does WHO report acknowledge?
 Ensuring safely managed drinking water for all households in the country could avert nearly 400,000 deaths caused by diarrheal diseases and prevent approximately 14 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) related to these diseases. This achievement alone would result in estimated cost savings of up to $101 Billion.
 The report reveals that in 2018, 36% of India’s total population, lacked access to improved drinkingwater sources on their premises. The direct consumption of unsafe drinking water had severe health and societal consequences. The analysis indicates that in 2019, unsafe drinking water, along with inadequate sanitation and hygiene, contributed to 1.4 million deaths and 74 million DALYs globally.
 The report acknowledges that provision of tap water has saved huge time and effort for women. In 2018, households without on-premises water spent a staggering 66.6 million hours each day collecting water, with the majority (55.8 million hours) occurring in rural areas. Universal coverage through tap water provision will result in substantial savings by eliminating the need for daily water collection efforts.
Source – WHO, Ministry of Jal Shakti