Sustainable Behaviour Changefor Sanitation

S.N.SrikanthPast President

Rotary Club of Madras

RI Dist 3230, India

The Curse of Open Defecation

2.5 billion people worldwide lack access to improved sanitation 1 billion defecate in the open

Children die of diarrhoea, their growth is stunted,

women risk assault after dark

Is building toilets the obvious solution?Not quite

India: Toilet Construction

0

20

40

60

80

100

1993 2002 2009 2012

85.876.3

65.259.4

30.6

17.911.3 8.8

Rural

Urban

% of rural households without toilets decreased from85.8% in 1993 to 59.4% in 2012

Govt. subsidies currently Rs. 12000 ($185) per toilet

India: Toilet UsageSQUAT Survey Results (2014)

30% of toilets constructed were dysfunctional

40% of households that have a working toilet have at least one person who regularly defecates in the open

Less than half of those who own a government built toilet use it regularly

Poverty doesn’t explain it either

Country % of population defecating in the

open*

Per capita GDP(in USD)*

India 44 1593

Bangladesh 1 1212

Bhutan 2 2656

Dem. Republic Congo

10 456

Myanmar 4 1162

Cameroon 6 1217

Open defecation rates do not correlate well with per capita GDP

*World Bank 2015 figures

We need to stimulate demand by changing people’s attitudes and behaviour

Supply led approaches to sanitation have failed

Emphasis on

Behaviour change, not awareness generation

Open Defecation Free communities, not number of toilets

Community led effort, not doles

Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)One way to approach Behaviour Change

Triggering: at the heart of CLTS

Powerful emotions such as shame and disgust

are leveraged to change behaviour

Amarambedu Village

60 km from Chennai, India

When the project started

Residents: 600+

Households: 109

Toilets: 1

ROTARY CLUB OF MADRASPilot project to end open defecation by changing behaviour

Variant of CLTS used

Community Led Effort at AmarambeduLeach pits being constructed

Govt Engineer Checking Toilet Enclosure

Amarambedu becomesOpen Defecation Free

A toilet in every household

How do we Sustain Behaviour Change?

Criteria for Sustainability

Financially Viable

Acceptable to Stakeholders

Technically Appropriate

Protective of Environment

Waste as resource

Projects of Least Practical Size

Sustainability: whether or not something continues to work over time

Public Perspective may differ from Individual’s

Individual Perspective

Savings in time

Convenience

Privacy

Safety

Dignity for women

Public Perspective

Better health

Lower public health care costs

Higher attendance by girls at school

Reduced contamination of water resources

National or community pride

What you “sell” may not be what they wish to “buy”

Position the desired change in behaviour from the individual’s perspective

2 1

4 3

Benefits

Societal

HighLow

Cost of Adoption

Perceived benefits should be high, cost of adoption low

Thank You