Sanitation & Hygiene

774 million people lack access to adequate sanitation in India, 76 million lack access to safe water and 1,400,000 children die every year because of unsafe water and sanitation. (Nov 2015, Source: WaterAid) Moreover, according to a recent survey conducted for Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), one in four toilets constructed In Rural Elementary Schools are dysfunctional. In 2016, as many as 96.5% of rural elementary government schools had toilets, but more than one in four (27.79%) were dysfunctional or locked. Women are most affected by the hazards of lack of proper sanitation. In India the majority of girls drop out of school because of lack of toilets. Only 22% of them manage to even complete class 10. (2015, Source: Health Issues, India). Rural women have to go to the extent of using unhygienic substances such as old rags and leaves due to lack of knowledge, access of sanitary products and purchasing power which has led to poor menstrual hygiene and reproductive diseases. 

Dharmalife Response
Children have a right to basic facilities such as schools, toilets, safe drinking water, clean surroundings and basic information on hygiene. Availability of water and sanitation facilities in schools secures a child’s dignity, safety and health and increases attendance and attentiveness in classes.
Through our Swacch Vidlaya campaign, Dharmalife is driving the message of ‘Clean India: Clean Schools’ in rural India. A key feature of the campaign is to ensure that every school in India has access to functioning and well maintained water-, sanitation- and hygiene facilities. Dharmalife conducts Hand wash Campaigns in rural schools to encourage and support children to switch from current practices to hygienic practices over a period of 3-6 months through extensive awareness creation, behaviour change and training programs.

Impact:
Number of children reached out to: 200,000
Female hygiene packs sold: 30,000
Water purifiers sold: 7,300