World Food Safety Day is celebrated on June 7. Contaminated food and water has been a problem area of India. On an average more than 1 cr Indian’s got ill due to Diarrhoea caused by contaminated water. In this article we would know more about Water Borne Diseases in India.
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How dangerous is contaminated food
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Water borne diseases in India makes one crore people sick every year
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World Bank Data on Deaths due to Communicable Diseases in India
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State wise Data of diarrhoea cases in India
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Diarrhoea as a % of contaminated water cases in India
How dangerous is contaminated food
According to WHO, every year one out of ten people in the world falls ill from contaminated food, in India also more than one crore people fall ill from contaminated water every year. More than 40 percent of deaths of children under the age of five are due to contaminated food and water.
Water borne diseases in India makes one crore people sick every year
According to official statistics, in the last three years, 3 crore 25 lakh people in the country have fallen ill due to contaminated water. In the year 2019, where 1.76 crore cases were registered, in the next year the number of victims decreased to half. In the year 2020, where 89.47 lakh cases were reported. The trend continued in the year 2021 as well and the number of registered cases decreased by 30 percent to 59.10 lakh.
World Bank Data on Deaths due to Communicable Diseases in India
In a report of the World Bank in the year 2016, it was told that water is the carrier of about 21% of communicable diseases in the country. About 73 million labor days are lost to the country due to diseases caused by contaminated water. Its country has to bear an economic loss of about 600 million dollars.
Diarrhoea as a % of contaminated water cases in India
40 percent of the country’s water-borne diseases are found in only 3 states. The names of these three states are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. In the three years between 2019-2021, out of the total 3.24 crore patients registered, 22 percent are from only one state, West Bengal. At the same time, the number of patients from Uttar Pradesh (9.77%) and Rajasthan (9.39%) are also in lakhs. After this, the number of Orissa (7.11%) and Gujarat (6.5%) comes in the list.
No. of Rural families don’t have access to clean tap water
Contaminated water causes diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis C, leptospirosis diseases. Out of total 3.25 crore patients of diseases spread by contaminated water in the country, 99.75 percent suffer from diarrhea only. Diarrhea kills one in six children aged 0-5 years worldwide. In India too, diarrhea affects millions every year and is one of the top 10 causes of death due to this reason.
Most of the rural people in the country struggle for clean water. In 2019, India was ranked 122 out of 124 countries in the Water Quality Index released by WaterAid. The NHFS-5 survey found that 58 percent of the total Indian households do not treat their water before drinking. In such a situation, this untreated water becomes the cause of many waterborne diseases including diarrhoea.
Apart from this, in large parts of the country, clean water is not yet available through taps by the government. On August 15, 2019, PM Modi announced the launch of the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme. According to the website of Jal Jeevan Mission, even now, out of the total 19.1 crore households in the country, only about half i.e. 9.63 crore rural households have access to water through taps.
| Tota Rurual Household | Piped Water Supply ( In Cr) | Rest (In Cr) |
| 19.14 Cr | 9.63 Cr | 9.51 Cr |
Source: Jal Shakti Ministry