Union Minister for Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on June 5, 2019 released two independent third-party studies conducted on the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) by UNICEF and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Study by UNICEF
- Under the “Environmental impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission on Water, Soil, and Food” by UNICEF, groundwater samples were collected and studied from ODF and non-ODF villages of Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal. The study found that, in terms of faecal contamination, non-ODF villages were, on average:
- 11.25 times more likely to have their groundwater sources contaminated (12.7 times more from contaminants traceable to humans alone)
- 1.13 times more likely to have their soil contaminated
- 1.48 times more likely to have food contaminated and 2.68 times more likely to have household drinking water contaminated.
- The study findings indicated that these substantial reductions may potentially be attributed to the improvement in sanitation and hygiene practices, as well as supportive systems such as regular monitoring and behaviour change messaging, which have all been critical aspects of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).
IEC footprint study by Gates Foundation
- The “Assessment of the reach and value of IEC activities under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)” conducted by Dalberg, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, estimated the scale of IEC activities within the Mission and assessed associated monetary and in-kind costs, and outputs such as reach. The study found that:
- SBM mobilized a spend equivalent worth INR 22,000 to 26,000 crores in monetary and non-monetary IEC activities.
- Of this spend equivalent, cash expenditure on IEC activities spent by the Government, private sector, and the development community was estimated to be between INR 3,500 – 4,000 crores.
- Of this cash spend, ~20% (~INR 800 crores) was spent by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), ~35% (~INR 1,250 crores) by the State Sanitation Departments, ~25% (~INR 1,000 crores) by other government ministries, and the other ~20% by the private sector (CSR and business expenditures) and the development sector collectively.
- An average person living in rural India was exposed to between 2,500 – 3,300 SBM related messages over the last five years.
