To get rid from the issue of Open defecation

India - the largest democracy in the world and a fast growing economy is often being referred as ‘the land of paradox’ mentioning to its stunted and malnourished women and children and the lack of basic sanitation facilities where 54% defecate in open when 61% have phone and television (UNICEF, 2013) that causes declining of human capital and produces chronic health consequences like diarrhea, encephalitis and various other health ailments. According to a UNDP-Water & Sanitation Program report, it is estimated that the total economic impact of inadequate sanitation in India amounts to Rs. 2.44 trillion (US$53.8 billion) a year — this was the equivalent of 6.4 per cent of India’s GDP in 2006. Adding more agony to this, the plight and peril of manual scavengers seems a ‘national shame’. This issue of ‘toilet crisis’ needs to be addressed and tackled with a time bound action plans.

Analysis shows that lack of individual understanding and initiative, scarcity of drinking water and water free toilets, inadequate government spending for sanitation, lack of effective awareness, no proper maintenance of sanitation infrastructure, and non availability of area specific designs are some of the major causes behind open defecation in India. Though community based toilets are available in many villages, people hardly use it because of their ignorance and wrong notions on health and hygiene. Also women are forced to be the ‘prisoners of day light’ due to no access to a safe latrine facility in the day lights that creates hard illness, assaults and low dignity. These findings exhort us to emphasis on a paradigm shift in the attitude of people through a problem specific and solution oriented intervention process.
In this back ground, I propose three time-bound and result oriented proposal for achieving defecation free villages in India.
1. Mr. Health (21 Day Habit)
This proposal is based on the Dean Spears’ paper ‘Effects of Early - Life Exposure to Sanitation’ on Childhood Cognitive Skills suggests that low-cost rural sanitation strategies such as India’s Total Sanitation Campaign can support children’s cognitive development. Experience from the ‘project Super Amma’ proved that emotional messaging has manifold impact among children to change their habit, that caused 37% increase in the washing habits of children (can help prevent diarrhoea that annually kills 8,00,000 children aged below five years). Research shows that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Hence this project aims at developing health and hygiene habits among children through creative gaming techniques that in turn influence family and at last the society at large.
2. Complete Health Village (Dry Toilet)
This project envisages to tackle the issue of water shortage in the villages and to provide site specific and emotionally appealing designs. Though it is community based, it creates a paradigm shift in the attitude of society.
3. Health Plus Home Project
Considering the physical and mental agony of women community due to the ‘prisoners of day light’ phenomenon, I propose a project to achieve Healthy Individual, Healthy Family and Healthy Society through the installation of cost effective toilets in every houses. 

Major challenges of this project will be are the ‘resistance to change’ of the community and funds for the development of dry/home based toilets. The former will be resolved by innovative gaming methodology of awareness and the latter will be addressed by Public Private Partnerships (PPP), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ventures and Common Village Fund (CVF) programs. Finally technology adoption will be done with credible and experienced agencies like Sulabh International, Melinda Gates Foundation and BioTech.

Reference

1. (2010). A Guide to Supporting the Local Actions of Children and Young People, With Special Emphasis on Girls and Young Women. New York: UNICEF.
2. (2011). Human Development Report. New York: UNDP.
3. Kumar, A. (2012). Towards a Healthier India,. Yojana, August Edition , 13.
4. Lamba, D. S. (2013). Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Sanitation, Evidence from India’s Total Sanitation
5. Campaign. Ganeva: The World Bank Sustainable Development Network Water and Sanitation Program Unit.
6. Sharma, A. (2011). Women Empowerment Mile stones and Challenges, . Kurukshetra, August Edition , 21.
7. (2011). WHO Training Package for the Health SectoR, Children's Health and the Environment. Geneva: World Health Organization, , www.who.int/ceh.