Impact of Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene on Health: Insights from India’s 75th Round National Sample Survey, 2017–2018

Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene play vital roles in public health. Any deprivation of these basic necessities would impose a significant burden on the health and healthcare of any nation. The present study attempts to understand the impact of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene on health in India. The study evaluates India’s 75th Round National Sample Survey (NSS), 2017–2018, which incorporates data from 555,115 individuals. Our study finds that 30.8% of households had piped water inside their dwelling, 23.6% of them practised open defecation and 54% of the respondents did not have any garbage disposal arrangement. Socio-economic status acted as a decisive factor in moulding access to these facilities. Chances of infectious diseases were 1.09 times (95% CI: 1.01–1.19, p < .05) higher among people who practised open defecation than the one who had flush latrine, and 1.26 times (95% CI: 1.06–1.49, p < .05) higher among those who had drinking water from unprotected sources than those who used bottled water. This study situates the significance of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene on public health and the welfare of society at large. The study unveils the urgent need to formulate equitable welfare policies by local governing machineries and the nation at large.