World over, inequalities abound. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition, 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty and only one-third of countries will have halved their national poverty levels by 2030. Despite global efforts, in 2022, an estimated 45 million children under the age of 5 suffered from wasting, and 22.3% of children under age 5 (148 million) were affected by stunting. Despite great progress, billions of people still lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene.
Working through these inequalities will take time, effort and much behavioural change on our part. When it comes to water and sanitation, this is time we don’t have. According to the UN World Water Development Report 2023, the global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to double from 930 million in 2016 to 1.7–2.4 billion people in 2050. Surface water bodies, such as lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, are undergoing rapid global changes, with one in five river basins showing high fluctuations in surface water levels in the past 5 years.
This means that as time goes on, increasing water stress will create additional pressures on our sanitation systems. When sanitation systems break down, the disproportionate burden of waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, amoebic dysentery, hepatitis A, shigellosis, giardiasis and vector borne diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and others is born by the underprivileged who live in cramped, crowded spaces, and have limited access to safe sanitation.
Fortunately, India has made a great start in the Swachh Bharat Mission – over 11 crore toilets have been built and more than 6 lakh villages have already been declared ODF. Beyond these numbers however, there are numerous approaches and strategies that make Swachh Bharat Mission a strong sanitation model with global applications.
Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)
In a nutshell, CLTS puts control back in the hands of the community. They get to come up with their own solutions, collaboratively. Rooted in the principles of empowerment and collective action, CLTS moves beyond traditional top-down methods, and instead focuses on community engagement and behavioural change. In essence, it aims to create clean communities through a participatory process that instils a sense of ownership and responsibility amongst participants.
While CLTS has been widely adopted worldwide, India has adopted CLTS as a national strategy for rural sanitation. CLTS was first introduced in Ahmednagar and Nanded districts, Maharashtra, in 2002. During the Total Sanitation Campaign, CLTS was reportedly being used in 16 Indian states.
NGOs are bridging the sanitation gap
NGOs focused on sanitation complement the Government of India’s efforts by working at various community levels and trying different approaches. They are often involved in advocating for policy changes and raising awareness about various aspects of sanitation. Several NGOs specialise in collaborations: creating strategic partnerships with other NGOs, government agencies, the private sector, media, and academia to create synergies.
There are several success stories. Sulabh International has built over 1.5 million household toilets and over 10,000 public toilets across the country and runs vocational training centres for sanitation workers to help them find alternative livelihoods. WaterAid India works to improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for the poorest and most marginalised communities. Gramalaya has implemented several CLTS programs in Tamil Nadu and other states, resulting in over 1,000 villages where no one has to go to the toilet in the open.
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) combine strengths
PPPs in sanitation involve collaboration between government entities and private companies to finance, design, build, and operate sanitation facilities. This approach harnesses the efficiency, expertise, and capital of the private sector while safeguarding public interests. In India, PPPs have been instrumental in bridging the investment gap in the sanitation sector, which is essential for achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6.
The Swachh Bharat Mission itself is a great example of a successful PPP. It saw participation from three major groups- government, corporations and NGOs. The private sector played a pivotal role in this mission, contributing funding, technological expertise, and operational support. However, building toilets is just one part of the solution. The Jal Jeevan Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation are other excellent examples of how collaboration between the public and private sector can yield incredible results.
Strong Education Strategies
The recommendations that the Sub-Group made regarding an education strategy that encompasses several key measures including a sanitation curriculum in schools; the establishment of ‘Swachhta Senanis’ in schools and colleges to champion sanitation, and even diploma courses in State ITIs and polytechnics/ colleges to train personnel in the field of solid and liquid waste management.
They also came up with several recommendations on how to create a stronger Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) strategy by involving measures like involving political and social/thought leaders, celebrities and media houses to spread the message of the importance of cleanliness and sanitation. The recommendations urge the use of electronic, web and print media to convey key messages around toilet use, and to ensure that cleaning occupations must be seen as dignified work and widely respected.
These guidelines create the essential framework for behaviour change communication, the GoI can’t go the distance alone. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to. For decades, Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment, has been a vocal champion for toilet hygiene through thought-provoking campaigns and impactful outreach programs. Three years ago, Harpic partnered with News18 to launch Mission Swachhta aur Paani, a movement dedicated to achieving inclusive sanitation for all.
Mission Swachhta aur Paani goes beyond just building toilets; it advocates for a future where everyone – regardless of gender, ability, caste, or class – has access to clean and hygienic sanitation facilities. The initiative recognizes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility, requiring collaboration across diverse stakeholders. This includes government officials, NGOs, sanitation workers, educators, and the public. By fostering intelligent dialogue between these groups, Mission Swachhta aur Paani leverages the extensive reach of News18 to shine a light on the challenges faced by our sanitation infrastructure and the dedicated individuals who maintain it.
What’s more, Mission Swachhta aur Paani empowers each of us to do our part in advancing the cause of sanitation. It functions as a repository for information on a vast variety of topics surrounding toilet access, toilet hygiene, and how to help improve toilet access and toilet habits across the board. So whether you want to write to your local MLA, or organise a beach cleanup or simply talk to your child’s school about their sanitation practices, you’ll find the information you need here.
Join us in this national transformation to usher in a Swasth and Swachh Bharat for every Indian, irrespective of their privilege.