Claim: In a recent report the WHO has said that because of the cleanliness campaign three lakh children were saved.
Fact: Misleading, the WHO report claimed that the successful implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan would save lives and not that lives had already been saved.
Explanation: The WHO release says “assuming 100% coverage is achieved by October 2019, could avert up to 300,000 deaths due to diarrheal disease and protein-energy malnutrition”. It does not mention that 300,000 lives have already been saved.
As per government guidelines, Swachh Bharat Mission success depends not just on building toilets but ensuring their use. More Indians living in villages owned a latrine in 2018 than four years ago, yet 44% of them still defecate in the open, according to a survey covering Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh released on January 4, 2019.
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