Jal Jeevan Mission will save lives of 1.36 lakh under 5 children every year, finds Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer

New Delhi: Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer finds that Jal Jeevan Mission, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government, will save lives of 1.36 lakh under 5 children every year.

The Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.

“We estimate that if the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) succeeds in this mission, it will prevent around 1,36,000 under-5 deaths per year. However, this will require that water delivered through JJM is free from microbiological contamination,” stated a paper by Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer.

‘Infant deaths can be reduced if safe water made available’

Michael Kremer, who won 2019 Nobel prize in economics, had visited India in July this year. During his visit, he interacted with Vini Mahajan, Secretary and senior officers from Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, UNICEF and other sector partners at Antyodaya Bhawan.

During the interaction, the Nobel laureate had said that nearly 30 per cent infant deaths can be reduced if safe water is made available to families for drinking.

Quoting his studies, Kremer had said that the new-borns are susceptible to water ailments and survey undertaken during their research concluded that one in every four deaths, pertaining to children can be prevented with provision of safe water. “Therefore, ‘Har Ghar Jal’ programme plays a crucial role in improving health parameters especially among children,” he had said.

He also expressed his happiness that the Jal Jeevan Mission was not merely making water available in rural household, but also ensured that water supplied was of prescribed quality.

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Also, regular testing of water sources and end points were carried out through water testing laboratory and community surveillance using Field Test Kits (FTKs).

Prof. Michael Kremer is an American development economist who was jointly awarded Nobel prize in Economics in the year 2019 with Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Water treatment is cost-effective way to reduce diarrheal disease and child mortality

As per the latest paper — ‘Potential Reduction in Child Mortality Through Expanding Access to Safe Drinking Water in India’ — by Michael Kremer, Akanksha Saletore, Witold Wiecek, Arthur Baker said, “In 2019, at the inception of JJM, more than 50 per cent of the population did not have access to safe drinking water.”

The paper further stated that Diarrhea is the third most common responsible disease for under-five mortality in India.

The paper further adds that water treatment is a cost-effective way to reduce diarrheal disesase and child mortality. It adds that a recent meta-analysis of 15 randomised controlled trials conducted by Kremer et al (2022) suggests that the expected reduction in all-cause under-5 mortality from water treatment is around one in four.

Kremer’s study suggests that water treatment is among the most cost-effective ways to reduce child mortality. Which ultimately means that efforts to reach as many people as possible with safe water are likely to have very large net benefits.

The study further suggests working with the Ministry and assisting the effort by testing possible solutions to water quality treatment to reduce child deaths in India.

With inputs from agencies

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