Actions To Tackle The Rural Sanitation Crisis To Achieve Sustainable Development
Having access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation is a basic human right. But, still, more than two billion people do not have adequate sanitation services and 673 million people practice open defecation globally (UNICEF,2021). In 2015, nearly 568 million people lacked access to toilets and were forced to practice open defecation. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan launched with a vision to make India cleaner by 2019, led to a significant reduction with estimated 450 million people living without access to toilets. Despite this achievement providing access to safe sanitation and ensuring rural India is free of open defecation is a herculean task.
Having an individual household toilet protects community members from life-threatening diseases and infection, maintains the dignity of women and girls, and allows students to continue their education. A few challenges like poor rural infrastructure especially roads, and cultural barriers and myths make the construction of toilets difficult in rural areas. Another roadblock for community members to access safe sanitation is the high cost of construction for families living on the margins. At the same time, we have to look beyond providing toilets. Critically the community must use and maintain their toilets, and open defecation-free communities are essential to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 6.
As we observe World Toilet Day on 19 November, we share some community-based actions that can help tackle the current rural sanitation crisis in rural India. These actions come from our learnings and implementation programs across our country by various development partners:
Community-Led Total Sanitation Initiative: In Raigad, Maharashtra, communities are ensuring each house has a toilet. This Community-Led Total Sanitation Initiative focuses on implementing behavior change strategies and creating awareness on the need for toilets and their use and maintenance. For this, community members organize a RathYatra's where a fabricated toilet moves from one village to another advocating the need for a toilet and its impact on the social, economic and physical well-being. The Community-Led Total Sanitation Initiative is executed and managed by the rural community members with support from non-profits. Various behavior change activities like folk talkies, dances, street plays etc are held regularly, motivating community members to build and ensure continuous use of toilets.
Individual household toilets are a must. One of our biggest learning is to have individual household toilets instead of community toilets. This has resulted in a sense of pride and better usage and maintenance.
Twin Soak Pit Toilets: In the absence of a sound sewage disposal system, twin soak pits at the household level are being realized as the most doable, scalable and cost-effective model for making rural India open defecation free. Comprising of two pits, a meter away, they allow the fecal matter to pass and settle in one pit only. In 4 -5 years, when the pit is closed, the second is opened for the matter to pass. After a year of rest, the contents of the first pit get converted to manure.
Creating Nigrani Samitis: To lead villagers towards making their community free of open defecation Turbhe Khurd village has created a Nigrani Samiti (Vigilance committee), that acts as a whistleblower for community members practicing open defecation. They also monitor the upkeep and need of household toilets and conduct behavior change activities to ensure their village is Open Defecation Free (ODF). The village inspired nearby villages that also formed Nigrani Samitis. This is a sustainable, replicable and scalable solution for community members to take ownership.
Over the last five years, we have seen positive impacts where our collaborative work with the government has resulted in 100 % ODF geography. Access to toilets has significantly improved the quality of life in many ways. There is a change in health and hygiene, safety, hygiene. Community members especially women, have lower risks of diseases and are spared the indignity of defecating in the open. All are spared the possibility of snake and scorpion bites, especially at night. Many women used to hold themselves the entire day and go only early morning and late-night leading to many illnesses. Having a toilet in the home impacts the overall well-being of a family. This high-impact intervention with multiple benefits to everyone at the household and community level builds a strong foundation for the sustainable development of the rural community.
