Why Safe Drinking Water Should Be At The Centre Of Public Health Policy In India.
In urban areas, the problem of poor drinking water and hygiene is only going to increase due to fast urbanisation and pollution.
This is ₹52 crore less than the annual budget of the Union Health Ministry and more than the annual budget of the Education Ministry.
Subsequently, the National Water Policies of 1987, 2002 and 2012 highlighted the concerns of clean drinking water.
Further, these programmes were implemented by the Department of Drinking Water Supply under the Ministry of Rural Development.
This highlights an important issue of the lack of understanding of safe drinking water as a vital component of public health.
Safe drinking water as a public health component Drinking water and sanitation form a major component of population-wide preventive services.
The WHO has documented 37 diseases as the major causes of death in developing countries, of which 21 are associated with water and sanitation.
After 67 years of independence, in 2014, India launched its first mission mode programme to address the issue of sanitation.
For implementing all these measures, it is first imperative to view lack of safe drinking water as a public health concern.