Program objective

To provide essential sanitation facilities, such as safe drinking water and adequate waste disposal systems, for Indian homes and communities. The IHS Sanitation Facilities Construction Program, an integral component of the IHS disease prevention activity, has carried out those authorities since 1960 using funds appropriated for Sanitation Facilities Construction to provide potable water and waste disposal facilities for AI/AN people. As a result, the rates for infant mortality, the mortality rate for gastroenteritis and other environmentally related diseases have been dramatically reduced, by about 80 percent since 1973. The IHS physicians and health professionals credit many of these health status improvements to IHS' provision of water supplies, sewage disposal facilities, development of solid waste sites, and provision of technical assistance to Indian water and sewer utility organizations. The provision of Indian sanitation facilities is a very important component of the overall effort required to achieve a reduction in waterborne disease outbreaks, a goal highlighted in Healthy People 2020 "Topics & Objectives” for Environmental Health. Safe drinking water supplies and adequate waste disposal facilities are essential preconditions for most health promotion and disease prevention efforts, as well as being a major factor in the quality of life of Indian people.