PM Modi hails report showing India’s rapid strides in Swachhta Abhiyaan, dip in infant mortality

New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed a research work spotlighting the outcome of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in ushering in hygienic conditions in both rural and urban India, pivotal in checking infant mortality across the country.

PM Modi took to X and shared a link to the research work on how SBM turned out to be a game-changer in containing infant mortality. He also expressed happiness over the positive impacts of the programme including a significant reduction in infant and child mortality rates in the country.

“Happy to see research highlighting the impact of efforts like the Swachh Bharat Mission. Access to proper toilets plays a crucial role in reducing infant and child mortality,” PM Modi said.

The research estimates that the provisioning of toilets under Clean India programme could avert approximately 60,000–70,000 infant deaths annually.

“Clean, safe sanitation has become a game-changer for public health. And, I am glad India has taken the lead in this,” PM wrote further on X.

The leading research team conducted an analysis of the long-term association between India’s toilet coverage and infant mortality, and found that the benefits of Swachh Bharat Mission were visible in the reduction of child mortality.

The researchers analysed data from 35 states, spanning 640 districts spread over 10 years (2011–2020), with regard to Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Under-Five Mortality Rates (U5MR) (deaths per thousand live births).

It found that as the construction of toilets increased dramatically under Swachh Bharat Mission 2014, the mortality rate also registered a significant decline.

“Results from panel data regression models show that districts with > 30 per cent toilets constructed under SBM corresponds with 5.3 lower IMR (p < 0.05), and 6.8 lower U5MR (p < 0.05),” it revealed.

“The post-SBM period in India exhibited accelerated reductions in infant and child mortality compared to the pre-SBM years,” it further pointed out.

Notably, Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, one of the pioneering schemes of the Modi government launched in 2014, has received global recognition and applause for bringing transformational change in the lives of the poor and the downtrodden.