NEW DELHI - LACK of toilets and other proper sanitation facilities costs India nearly US$54 billion (S$71 billion) a year, a World Bank study has found, mainly through premature deaths, especially of young children.
Asia's third-largest economy loses US$53.8 billion or 6.4 per cent of its gross domestic product through hygiene-related illnesses, lost productivity and other factors stemming from poor sanitation, according to World Bank.
'For decades we have been aware of the significant health impacts of inadequate sanitation in India,' said Christopher Juan Costain, leader for the World Bank's South Asia Water and Sanitation Program.
'This report quantifies the economic losses to India, and shows that children and poor households bear the brunt of poor sanitation,' he said in remarks posted on the group's website on Tuesday.
The lack of proper sanitation creates major health risks, raising the threat of potentially fatal illnesses such as typhoid and malaria.
The study in East Asia showed annual per person losses from poor sanitation in the range of US$9.30 in Vietnam, to US$16.80 in the Philippines, US$28.60 in Indonesia to a high of US$32.40 in Cambodia, said Mr Costain. -- AFP
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