The government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan cleanliness campaign was the focus at the World Toilet Summit held here on Monday. The event was held by the World Toilet Organization, a global non-profit body, which aims to provide sustainable and affordable sanitation solutions to eradicate open defecation practices in the world.
The summit theme was “Can the world be open defecation free by 2030”, a release said. In a video message to the gathering, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state has become 100 per cent open defecation free, 55 per cent of which was covered after his government came to power in 2014.
The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.3 billion people in the world do not have access to clean, safe and reliable toilets, the release said. This number is 732 million in India, it added. Jack Sim, founder of World Toilet Organization, said, “We believe in the necessity of a comprehensive behavioural change strategy to focus on bringing the change in the mindset of people”. He said the organisation was committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, the brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, said there has been a major transformation in India due to the cleanliness campaign.