As the New York Times put it before his visit to the United States recently, India’s Prime Minister has “pledged to cut through red tape, stamp out corruption, revive India’s economy and restore pride.” But he has also been quite outspoken on a subject you hear much less about: open defecation. It may seem surprising when you think about all the innovation coming out of India, but 630 million people there defecate in the open because they don’t have access to a commode. Worldwide, the number is 2.5 billion people. This is not the kind of issue that most politicians like to talk about.

But I would guess that in the short time he has been in office, Prime Minister Modi has done more to raise the awareness of the need for toilets than any other leader since the country gained independence. Creating good sanitation options for people—a safe place to poop—is a big focus of our foundation. So when Melinda and I met the Prime Minister in New Delhi last month, toilets were high on the agenda, along with vaccines, bank accounts, and health clinics. We came away impressed by his commitment to fighting poverty and improving health for India’s poorest people

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