The UN says countries where open defecation is most widely practised have the highest numbers of deaths of under-fives, high levels of undernutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities. Stunting, or low height for age, affects 165 million children worldwide, has negative long-term impacts on physical and mental development, and reduces productivity in adulthood. Undernutrition causes 3.1 million deaths annually [1] – nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five.

Recent studies suggest a strong link between open defecation and undernutrition in India [2], which, despite strong economic growth, has high rates of stunting.

Read more in this Guardian Poverty Matters Blog by Mark Tran (1st August 2013) [3]