National Sample Survey (NSS) report on open defecation

• According to national sample survey , more than half of people in rural areas still go for open defecation though things seems to be changing after construction of community toilets as part of Swachh Bharat Mission
• The main reason for open defecation is behaviour and mindset of the people who have continued the practice for centuries. Adequate availability of water for toilets is also a concern.
• Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) on October 2, 2014 there is an improvement of 8.12 percentage points in number of rural households having toilets, with 50.17% rural households covered as of February 2016.
• Highlights of the survey:
• The survey estimates that 52.1% of people in rural India choose open defecation compared to 7.5% in urban India.
• Only 45.3% rural households have a sanitary toilet, while in urban areas, the figure stands at 88.8%.
• The lowest percentage of households having sanitary toilets was reported in Jharkhand (18.8%), Chhattisgarh (21.2%) and Odisha (26.3%).
• The States with the highest numbers were Sikkim (98.2%), Kerala (97.6%) and Mizoram (96.2 %).
• 1% of the villages and 42% urban wards have community toilets. However, they were not being used in 1.7% villages and 1.6% urban wards. Also, in 22.6% of the villages and 8.6% urban wards, community toilets were not being cleaned.
• While 87.9% of the urban households were found to have access to water for use in toilets, only 42.5% rural households had this facility. For this situation to improve, under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), the incentive for individual toilet has been increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000, to provide for water, including for storing water for hand-washing and cleaning.

Analysis:

• Open defecation poses a serious threat to the health of children in India. The practice is the main reason India reports the highest number of diarrhoeal deaths among children under-five in the world. Every year, diarrhoea kills 188,000 children under five in India. Children weakened by frequent diarrhoea episodes are more vulnerable to malnutrition, stunting, and opportunistic infections such as pneumonia.
• Open defecation exposes women to the danger of physical attacks and encounters such as snake bites. Poor sanitation also cripples national development: workers produce less, live shorter lives, save and invest less, and are less able to send their children to school.
• In India, open defecation is a well-established traditional practice deeply ingrained from early childhood. Sanitation is not a socially acceptable topic, and as a result, people do not discuss it. Consequently, open defecation has persisted as a norm for many Indians. In addition to tradition and the communication taboo, the practice still exists due to poverty; many of the poorest people will not prioritise toilets and besides, many are living in rented homes without toilets.
• Society does not view the lack of a toilet as unacceptable. Building and owning a toilet is not perceived as aspirational. Construction of toilets is still seen as the government’s responsibility, rather than a priority that individual households should take responsibility for. The challenge is to motivate people to see a toilet as fundamental to their social standing, status and well-being.
• A significant gap also exists between knowledge and practice. Even when people are aware of the health risks related to poor sanitation (specifically of not using a toilet and practising good hygiene), they continue with unhealthy practices.
• Open defecation in urban areas is driven by a number of reasons including, lack of space to build toilets in high-density settlements and tenants unwilling to invest in toilets where landlords do not provide them. In rural India, open defecation is prevalent among all socio-economic groups although the bottom two wealth quintiles practice it most.
• One of the main challenges faced in the drive to eliminate open defecation is the inadequate human resource base for sanitation. In sub-districts where they are most needed, there are no dedicated frontline workers to promote and implement sanitation strategies. While some states have now began to recruit frontline workers, there are still no mechanisms for their training, management, and supervision.
• Another key requirement is to integrate Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) elements into the government programme, Swatchh Bharat Mission (SBM). Gram Panchayats (village governments) who receive resources from the SBM do not benefit from an SBCC drive to stimulate demand for toilets.
• Equally, community approaches that involve systematic and structured Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) and Inter-Personal Communication (IPC) elements are not yet integrated in the SBM. The absence of SBCC activities means that many households that receive toilets have not demanded them. As a result, not all members of the household use the toilets because they do not know their benefits. In a small number of cases, no members of the household use the toilets, illustrating the need for more community-level information about sanitation.

By: Vishal