The Impact of Poor Sanitation on Nutrition

With 165 million children suffering from chronic undernutrition and 52 million suffering from acute malnutrition, more concerted and cross-sectoral action is needed. Improving WASH in the context of nutrition programming offers one important opportunity to do this. This paper summarises the evidence for the impact of poor sanitation on nutritional outcomes - with a spotlight on India - and highlights the potential offered by greater integration of WASH within nutrition policy and programmes. It offers recommendations for policymakers, practitioners and researchers. This brief was first produced with UNICEF India as a background paper for the STOP Stunting Conference held in Delhi in November 2014.