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@article{190921,
        author = {Priyanka Pandey and Prof. Shivani Verma},
        title = {Hygiene and Sanitation: A Comprehensive Review of Current Practices, Challenges, and Global Health Implications},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {5542-5547},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190921},
        abstract = {Hygiene and sanitation constitute critical determinants of public health, influencing disease transmission, child development, and socioeconomic progress across global populations. This comprehensive review examines the current state of hygiene and sanitation practices, infrastructure challenges, and health implications, with particular emphasis on disparities affecting low- and middle-income countries. Approximately 2 billion people worldwide lack access to safely managed sanitation services, while 673 million continue to practice open defecation, creating substantial disease burdens through fecal-oral pathogen transmission. The review explores the historical evolution of sanitation science, contemporary technological approaches ranging from basic pit latrines to advanced ecological sanitation systems, and the behavioral dimensions that influence hygiene practice adoption. Key health outcomes associated with inadequate sanitation include diarrheal diseases causing 500,000 annual deaths, environmental enteric dysfunction contributing to childhood stunting, and neglected tropical diseases affecting hundreds of millions. The review addresses socioeconomic dimensions including gender inequalities, educational impacts, and economic productivity losses, while examining policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, and governance structures necessary for universal service delivery. Emerging challenges including climate change impacts, antimicrobial resistance pathways through environmental contamination, and humanitarian emergency responses are analyzed alongside innovative solutions such as container-based sanitation, fecal sludge management systems, and resource recovery approaches. The analysis emphasizes that achieving Sustainable Development Goal targets requires integrated strategies addressing infrastructure development, behavior change interventions, and institutional strengthening simultaneously. Success depends on sustained political commitment, increased investment, context-appropriate technological solutions, and equity-focused implementation that prioritizes vulnerable and marginalized populations. This review synthesizes evidence across multiple disciplines to provide comprehensive understanding of hygiene and sanitation as foundational elements of public health and human development.},
        keywords = {sanitation infrastructure, hygiene practices, waterborne diseases, public health intervention, sustainable development goals},
        month = {January},
        }