In 2011, India had more phone users (around 54 per cent of households) and television access (33 per cent) in rural areas than people with access to tap water (31 per cent) and toilet facilities (31 per cent), according to Census 2011.
This clearly indicates the failure of government programmes to change the centuries-old practice of defecation in the open. This neglect of safe sanitation has had catastrophic outcomes in terms of human well-being.
This case study is an analysis of the latest central government Swachch Bharat Mission – Gramin (Clean India Mission – Rural) (or SBM-G), which has achieved much greater success than any hitherto government effort in providing access to and use of toilets, especially in rural areas where the need is greatest. However, any conception of achieving ODF status, or free of open defecation, in a village (or any limited geography) is more than merely building toilets.
The Sanitation Learning Hub commissioned case studies of sanitation campaigns in both India and Nepal, drawing out the lessons learnt for other countries wishing to implement similar initiatives. Both case studies focus on how target setting and feedback and reporting mechanisms can be used to increase the quality of campaigns.
