Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Open air defecation carries the risk of ill-health due to water borne, and helminthic diseases. It is a serious threat to the cleanliness of the environment and the ground water used for the supply of drinking water. Presence of sanitary latrine may depend upon the socio-economic status of the household. We aimed to identify the socio economic correlates of open air defecation in a rural community of North India. A house-to-house survey was conducted by trained interviewers in 28 villages of Block Ballabgarh in district Faridabad. Out of a total of 16,415 households (response rate 97%), nearly one-fourth (24.1%) belonged to marginalized community (MC), and 8.3% were below Poverty Line (BPL). Non-availability of sanitary latrine among MC households was higher (19.4%) compared to others (10.4%). This difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Similarly, a significantly higher proportion of BPL households (28.9%) lacked sanitary latrine compared to above Poverty Line households (11.0%) (p<0.001). Households belonging to either lower social hierarchy or, to lower financial status were less likely to have access to sanitary latrines. This disproportionately makes these households more vulnerable to ill health.