Title
The Toilet Taboo: The Effectiveness of Sanitation Projects in India
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2018
Volume
12
Issue
1
Journal
Undercurrent
Abstract
Despite India’s advancements in development and industry, it is also the nation with the greatest prevalence of open defecation in the world. This paper examines India as a case study in order to understand some of the barriers to sanitation projects. Specifically, these barriers include: top-down governmental approaches such as inconsistent and ill targeted funding, subsidizing, poor quality toilets when built, and incentivizing. In addition, there is a need to transition to Community-Led Total Sanitation models. This can be done by improving health awareness and integrating vulnerable populations in sanitation campaigns. Additional recommendations for future projects, including further use of technology as seen in the current Clean India Mission, are also made throughout this paper. These findings can provide useful methods to improve sanitation in India, which not only has applications to current sanitation policies in the country, but could also serve as a model to benefit other countries facing similar concerns.