Sanitation Behaviour Change Is Nobody’s Job: Understanding Interventions And Factors That Increase Usage Of Toilets

Abstract

In 2014, the Government of India has launched the Swachh Bharat Mission, the sanitation scheme, to end practise of the open defecation across India by increasing the accessibility of toilets. However, increasing the sanitation coverage would not ensure the usage of the toilets. The problem of non-usage of the toilet is not financial; it is social, religious, and cultural. To overcome these behaviour barriers the sanitation scheme has a behaviour change component. This dissertation, using the quasiexperimental research design, aims to study the effectiveness of the scheme and the efficacy of Behaviour Change Communication interventions to change the behaviour of the household towards the usage of the toilet. The critical analysis of the primary data collected from four panchayats of District Agra, Uttar Pradesh shows that the behaviour change component of the scheme has significantly influenced the owner to use the toilet. Also, there are some other behaviour factors and messages which can motivate a person to stop defecating in the open.