Figuratively Speaking According to Impacts of Poor Sanitation, Courtney Prentice, Borgen Project June 2014, not only are there health consequences to open defecation, but social safety consequences as well. When women and children have to relieve themselves, they are forced to venture into the streets rather than using a toilet in the safety of their own home, which compromises their safety. A senior police officer in Bihar stated that about 400 women would have avoided rape last year if they had toilets in their homes. India had then a large number of open pit toilets which required manual cleaning. Manual scavenging was an abhorrence. Solutions had to be provided urgently and that too at scale to stop this revolting practice. “Unsafe sanitation caused an estimated 199 million cases of diarrhoea annually” as stated by WHO expert Richard Johnston. The Borgen Project, Prentice: Two common hygiene-related diseases, typhoid and diarrhea, prevent their victims from absorbing necessary nutrients which leads to malnutrition. India has higher rates of malnutrition in children than Sub-Saharan Africa. WSP Study states that total annual economic impact of inadequate sanitation in India amounted to a loss of `2.4 trillion ($53.8 billion2) in 2006. The health-related economic impact of inadequate sanitation was `1.75 trillion ($38.5 billion). Access time and water-related impacts made up the other two main losses. Of the total economic losses related to premature mortality, 79 percent ($23 billion of $29 billion, or `1.04 trillion of `1.3 trillion) was due to deaths and diseases in children below age five. Disproportionate impact on the poor: The poor in India suffer substantial harm to their lives, health, and scarce financial resources because of inadequate sanitation. Poorer families tend to lose wages and spend precious resources treating illnesses. Children in poorer households are, again, the segment that is most affected. Households in the poorest 20 percent that reside in rural areas bear a burden of `204 billion ($4.5 billion) or 28 percent of total losses to rural households. The above provides a flavour of the environment and the challenges thereof. We believe that FINISH has been very successful in meeting these challenges towards fulfilling our goals. With over 1 million safe sanitation systems constructed and the seeds sown for the next phase of our growth. We look forward to making a significant impact on waste management as a part of the circular economy and alleviating human suffering further. Our sanitation systems have affected the lives of more than 20 million people including communities becoming ODF; children embracing the use of a toilet as the only way to defecate, health and hygiene standards, enhanced livelihood, reduction in manual toilet and drain cleaning, women’s safety, independence and dignity and financial inclusion to many below the poverty line. Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) is at the centre of sustainable development agenda, with a distinct sector goal (SDG 6) that envisions universal, sustainable, and equitable access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, and the elimination of open defecation by 2030. WASH also underpins many other SDGs, including those related to nutrition, health, education, poverty and economic growth, urban services, gender equality, resilience and climate change.