r.i.c.e.

At rice, one of the threats to human development in India that we emphasize most is the effect of widespread open defecation on children’s growth and development – reflected most readily in height and stunting. The important connection between sanitation and child height has been highlighted in the news twice this week:

Mint, India’s branch of the Wall Street Journal, released my op-ed today: “Coming up short in India: Debates on malnutrition ignore links with sanitation and disease and the burdens these impose on children.” This article was partially motivated by Arvind Panagariya’s recent and too optimistic opinion on child height in India in Economic and Political Weekly.

Earlier this week, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh – who has long insisted on the urgency of eliminating open defecation – spoke about the effects of poor sanitation on child malnutrition at an event to mark the new Lancet nutrition series:

• The Economic Times, “Political class has been neglecting sanitation: Jairam Ramesh”
• The Indian Express, “Sanitation linked to malnutrition, says Jairam”