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60% of Indians do not have access to safe, private and hygienic toilets as per a report by ‘Wateraid’, 2015. In India almost 48 % of children younger than 5 years of age are stunted, open defecation is among prime causes of stunted growth. It develops due to chronic under nutrition where the height and growth of the child deviates from the median of WHO Child Growth Standards. Stunting is associated with an under developed mental and physical health which further diminishes mental ability, learning capacity, poor school performance, reduced job opportunities and earning, more risk of nutrition related diseases (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.)
More than 600 M people in India defecate in open and most of the people live in rural India. It causes serious risk to health which results in illness and deaths of thousands (especially infants and kids).
Open defecation free India; the sanitation flagship program under Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) started on 2nd October 2014, aims to make India open defecation free by 2019. After 2 years completion of the mission in 2016, According to a survey conducted by NSSO, nearly 55% of rural population still defecates in the open. The situation is better in urban areas where 9% people defecate in the open (especially slum areas on outskirts of the city core).
So far only in 17 districts out of 687 districts the target to construct toilets has been achieved. The target was to construct 6.84 crore new toilets and ensure reconstruction of 1.39 crore dysfunctional toilets in rural India by 2019. The challenge was particularly severe in five states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha -accounting for nearly 50% open defecation in the country as per the Census 2011. In this region of the world only Sri Lanka and Bangladesh has managed to wipe the ages old practice. In Pakistan 21%, Bhutan 18% and 54 % population of Nepal do not use latrine.
Open defecators use road side, open fields, jungles, grounds to defecate. In India the government installing sanitary latrines for the poor in cooperation with state governments and panchayats still the efforts of government are not reflected as per expectations yet, it may be due to the subsidy focused approach (hampered due to; corruption, unawareness), behavioral inertia among the natives (socio cultural reasons), lack of access to un-served (remote areas), etc.
There are many factors which are responsible for the open defecation especially in rural India.
Firstly, social norms, customs and traditions (may be because of lack access to proper toilets in the past which later on turned into a habit).
Secondly, lack of demand for simple and affordable toilets (may be due to poverty and old habit).
Thirdly, socio cultural constraints (enclosed, dark, non-airy, costly).
Some of the perceived advantages of open defecation include pleasure and comfort in open space gives them opportunity to breathe fresh air and morning walk. Open defecation was not seen as a threat to health it can be due to lack of awareness. This ultimately leads to low demand for proper latrine where as if demanded it can achieve the target of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Direct consequences related to open defecation includes health problems (through oral, respiratory routes causes infection, diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis; especially in kids under 5 years of age), women and child security risk (privacy, sexual assault, rape, abuse), ever growing poverty cycle (inherited chronic diseases hinder the capacity to work, learn, study and earn), It pollutes surface and ground water (spread diseases), pollutes air (spread diseases), high child mortality, under and mal nutrition, it negatively effects the economy of nation (health problems, poverty), acts as a deciding factor in marriage. So the need of the hour is to increase the awareness among people with construction of sanitation infrastructure.
Toilet construction is necessary but without inducing behavior change in the community, it may results in the toilets lying unused or being put to alternate non-sanitary usage. The Swatch Bharat mission under 2 sub mission, one in rural and the other in urban is more focused to construct the infrastructure as well as to change mind-sets of people. Awareness regarding, honor and safety of women and child, ill consequences upon health and nutrition status are to be generated to change the traditional mind set.
The pace of construction of toilets under the sub mission named ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’ of the Government insist upon universal separate toilets for boys and girls in every school would do best with schools becoming the seed for a larger societal behavioral change for future generations who would find it difficult to defecate in the open.
However, one of our immediate neighbors has achieved the landmark to eliminate open defecation out of the country. With adoption of low cost sanitary latrine model (Twin-pit offset latrine, with hand wash facilities), Bangladesh has reduced the open defecation to only 1 % in 2016 from 42% in 2003. On the other hand, if we want to make India open defecation free by 2019, we need to effectively engage all with strong political and demographic will including; state governments, media, bureaucrats, civil societies, NGO’s, panchayats, local bodies, municipalities, large business houses and communities all over the country
For instance Kerela state is gearing up to be declared as the first ‘Open defecation free’, among the most populous states in the country with the completion of 1.90 lack toilets in its 941 village panchayats by the November of 2016 under ‘Clean India Mission’. Moreover, Rajasthan I the first state in India to make a functional toilet mandatory in the house of the person contesting elections for panchayat elections.
Popular benefits include prevention from easy access to toilets (long distance, winter, summer, rain, and illness), disease, elimination of bad odor, women and child safety (rape, assault, abuse, and violence), sense of improved social standard and improvement in water and air quality. For instance, Nadia District of West Bengal –has been declared as 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) in India– It has reported a decrease in incidence of diarrhea, besides significant reduction in the number of severely mal-nourished children.
So the government needs to work on entire sanitation value chain that includes; water supply, safe disposal and treatment of waste and maintenance of infrastructure. For this there is a dire need for dedicated and trained youth to help in the governmental programs. For behavioral change celebrities and sportspersons can be used as agents of change. For example, UNICEF’s campaigns including BCCI, ICC, and Bollywood stars. Moreover, the use of modern technology such as mobile apps and web portals are to be popularized to encourage citizens to adopt sanitation facilities.
In the end, the Indian government has announced programs such as ‘Central Rural sanitation program (1986)’, Total sanitation campaign, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan to improve sanitation facilities to the rural and urban poor. Further, the holistic aim of current program is to improve the levels of cleanliness in rural and urban areas through solid and liquid waste management strategies making panchayats and municipalities clean and sanitized.
By: Anubhav Puri ProfileResourcesReport error
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