Book on Economics of Sanitation released

Hanamkonda: Warangal Urban District Collector Amrapali Kata has released a book titled ‘Economics of Sanitation: Contemporary Rural Women Study’ at the collectorate in Hanamkonda on Wednesday. The book is authored by Prof B Suresh Lal, head of the department of economics of Kakatiya University and G Kavitha, a faculty member at University Arts and Science College.

Speaking after releasing the book, the Collector said the book focuses on how silent humanitarian crisis of poor sanitation killing about 3,900 children every day. About 1.7 million people die every year in developing nations from diarrhoeal diseases and 90 per cent of them are children below five years age. 88 per cent of cases of diarrhoeal diseases worldwide are attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.

Poor health resulting from poor sanitation has a huge effect on economies, with money that can be used to purchase food or education is spent on medicines. The national economies also feel the strain of providing medical treatment, people become too ill to work, and their livelihoods being destroyed by preventable disease, said Prof Suresh Lal adding that the poor sanitation hindering progress of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Asia and Africa.

The sanitation crisis also resulted in higher health costs, lower worker productivity, lower school enrollment and retention rates of girls. The book covers wide variety of aspects like importance of sanitation, case studies, world and Indian scenario, socio economic conditions of women and others. The department faculty, scholars and students complimented the authors for bringing out the book.