Imagine a bustling Indian city, vibrant yet plagued by an unspoken problem. In its underprivileged areas, the sanitation gap yawns wide, threatening the health and well-being of thousands of families. This “gap” refers to the stark disparity between those with access to safe sanitation facilities and those left to contend with inadequate toilets and contaminated water. The consequences are dire – diarrhoeal diseases, stunted growth in children, and a constant fear of illness.
It is important to note here that while the Swachh Bharat Mission has been a resounding success in creating toilets and sanitation infrastructure, gaps exist in getting people to use this infrastructure correctly and safely. If these toilets aren’t maintained correctly, they degrade, returning the communities that rely on them back in the same place they were before.
The lack of sanitation access in underprivileged areas is mainly due to factors such as poverty, lack of awareness, social norms, caste discrimination, and inadequate (or poorly maintained) infrastructure. These factors create barriers for communities to access safe and hygienic toilets, water supply, and waste management systems. As a result, poor sanitation increases the risk of diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and worm infections. Poor sanitation also affects education, gender equality, dignity, and economic productivity.
Amidst this grim reality, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) emerge as beacons of hope. Driven by a commitment to social justice and public health, they bridge the sanitation gap, bringing the promise of a cleaner, healthier future to underprivileged communities.
How NGOs are bridging the sanitation gap
NGOs are organisations that operate independently from the government and are often driven by a social or environmental mission. NGOs focused on sanitation in India complement the efforts of the government and other stakeholders by working at various levels of the community, and by trialling different approaches with an eye towards improving sanitation. They are often involved in advocacy for policy changes, and raising awareness on various aspects of sanitation. Several NGOs specialise in collaborations: creating strategic partnerships with other NGOs, government agencies, private sector, media, and academia to create synergies.
Many NGOs have the ability to provide technical assistance and financial support for building and maintaining sanitation facilities. They often help promote innovative technologies and practices that are affordable, sustainable, and culturally appropriate. They take the lead in implementing community-led total sanitation (CLTS) programs that encourage much needed behavioural change and local ownership of sanitation solutions. Still other NGOs work at grassroots levels, empowering marginalised groups (including women, children, gender diverse people and lower castes) to participate in decision-making and access sanitation services that affect them.
There are several success stories here.
Founded in 1970 by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh International is one of the largest NGOs working in sanitation in India. It has built over 1.5 million household toilets and over 10,000 public toilets across the country. It also runs vocational training centres for sanitation workers to help them find alternative livelihoods. The organisation also works towards providing safe and hygienic human waste disposal systems to millions of Indians. In addition, Sulabh International has been instrumental in liberating over 10,000 manual scavengers and economically empowering them with new livelihood skills and opportunities. They have also set up a network of centres all over the country to train boys and girls from poor families, especially sanitation workers, so that they can compete in the open job market.
Established in 1986 by the UK-based charity WaterAid International, WaterAid India works to improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for the poorest and most marginalised communities. It has reached millions of people with WASH services since its inception. It also advocates for policy changes and conducts research on WASH issues.
Founded in 1987 by Mr. S. Damodaran, Gramalaya is an NGO that focuses on rural sanitation and hygiene promotion. It 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. It also supports women self-help groups to form microfinance institutions that provide loans for toilet construction. It has successfully demonstrated models in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene with various demographic conditions covering rural, urban, coastal, and tribal areas. Gramalaya has promoted more than 600,000 individual household toilets in India by closely working with State Governments like Puducherry and Swachh Bharat Mission of different districts. By working with SBM program and CSR initiatives, Gramalaya is instrumental in declaring several villages and slums in urban areas as open defecation free zones
Partnerships as Catalysts for Change
Fortunately, in India, it isn’t just the government and NGOs that are involved in uplifting the cause of sanitation. As India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment, Harpic has a deep and nuanced understanding of the challenges that sanitation brings. For decades now, Harpic has vocally championed the cause of toilet hygiene through innovative and thought provoking campaigns and outreach programs. Harpic, together with News18, also created the Mission Swachhta aur Paani initiative 3 years ago. It is a movement that upholds the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets. Mission Swachhta aur Paani advocates equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and strongly believes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility.
Under the aegis of Mission Swachhta aur Paani, Harpic has also reached out 17.5 million children across the nation via their partnership with Sesame Workshop India to promote positive sanitation, hygiene knowledge and toilet behaviours among children and families through schools and communities. Why children? As the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Mission found, children are much more receptive to these messages, and often serve as ambassadors, encouraging their families to construct and use toilets safely and correctly.
Poor sanitation affects all of us. We aren’t immune just because we live in apartments and have the privilege of only using clean public toilets. We are supported by people who don’t have these basic rights. These are the people who cook and clean for us, drive us to work, deliver our groceries, and do a million other tasks that we don’t have to think about because they’re there. Isn’t it time we repaid the favour?
What we talk about matters. Join us here to learn how you can be a part of the solution, and help us usher in a more Swasth and Swachh Bharat.
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