The document discusses the challenge of open defecation, highlighting that 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation, with India struggling despite toilet construction efforts. It emphasizes that building toilets alone is insufficient, advocating for a behavioral change approach through community-led initiatives like Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) to effectively increase toilet usage and eliminate open defecation. Sustainability of these changes requires consideration of both individual and public perspectives on the benefits of improved sanitation.

1. Sustainable Behaviour Change
for Sanitation
S.N.Srikanth
Past President
Rotary Club of Madras
RI Dist 3230, India

2. 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,

3. Is building toilets the obvious solution?
Not quite

4. India: Toilet Construction
0
20
40
60
80
100
1993 2002 2009 2012
85.8
76.3
65.2
59.4
30.6
17.9
11.3 8.8
Rural
Urban
% of rural households without toilets decreased from
85.8% in 1993 to 59.4% in 2012
Govt. subsidies currently Rs. 12000 ($185) per toilet

5. India: Toilet Usage
SQUAT 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

6. 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

7. We need to stimulate demand by changing
people’s attitudes and behaviour
Supply led approaches
to sanitation have failed

8. 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

9. Triggering: at the heart of CLTS
Powerful emotions such as shame and disgust
are leveraged to change behaviour

10. Amarambedu Village
60 km from Chennai, India
When the project started
Residents: 600+
Households: 109
Toilets: 1
ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS
Pilot project to end open defecation by changing behaviour
Variant of CLTS used

11. Community Led Effort at Amarambedu
Leach pits being constructed

12. Govt Engineer Checking Toilet Enclosure

13. Amarambedu becomes
Open Defecation Free
A toilet in every household

14. How do we
Sustain Behaviour Change?

15. 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

16. Public Perspective may differ from Individual’s

17. 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”

18. Position the desired change in behaviour from
the individual’s perspective
2 1
4 3
Benefits
Societal
High
Low
Cost of
Adoption
Perceived benefits should be high, cost of adoption low

19. Thank You