The Short- and Medium-Term Impacts of Household Water Supply and Sanitation on Diarrhea in Rural India, April 2015. Maryland Population Research Center Working Paper.
Authors: Esther Duflo, Michael Greenston, Raymond Guiteras, Thomas Clasen.
Poor water quality and sanitation lead to severe health problems in developing countries, yet there is little evidence on the effectiveness of at-scale, infrastructure-based solutions for the rural poor. This paper estimates the impact of an integrated water and sanitation improvement program in rural India that provided household-level water connections, latrines, and bathing facilities to all households in approximately 100 villages. We employ an interrupted time-series analysis with multiple units to estimate the short- and medium-term impacts of the intervention on episodes of diarrhea for which treatment was received. The estimates suggest that the intervention was effective, reducing such episodes by 30-50%. These results are evident in the short term and persist for 5 years or more. The annual cost is approximately US$60 per household, as compared to annual household consumption of approximately US$740.
