‘ OPEN DEFECATION ’

A BIGGEST CHALLENGE
IN INDIA
OPEN DEFECTATION ?
Open defecation is the practice of people defecating
outside and not into a designated toilet.

The term is widely used in literature about water,

sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) issues in developing
countries.
Affected Countries
About one billion people, or 15 percent of the global
population, practice open defecation. India has the highest
number of people practicing open defecation, around 490
million people, or nearly a third of the population.

The other countries with the highest number of people

openly defecating are Indonesia (54 million), followed by
Pakistan (41 million), Nigeria (39 million), Ethiopia (34
million), and Sudan (17 million).
India : topper in open defecation
EFFECTS
Whilst open defecation causes little harm when done in
sparsely populated areas, forests, or camping type situations, it
becomes a significant public health issue—and an issue of
human dignity—when it occurs in more densely populated
areas.
Open defecation perpetuates the vicious cycle of disease and
poverty and is widely regarded as an affront to personal dignity
. The countries where open defecation is most widely practised
have the highest numbers of deaths of children under the age
of five, as well as high levels of undernutrition , high levels of
poverty, and large disparities between the rich and poor.
REASONS
No toilet available .
A toilet is available but is of low quality
There is a risk to personal safety .Toilets are only at
some distance; also, it may be dangerous to get there at
night .
Ignorance about the benefits of using toilets .
Diarrhoea may mean there is not enough time to go to
a distant shared toilet .
Reasons for people owning a household
toilet but still openly defecating

The toilet was provided and not wanted by the recipients .

The toilet building can be put to other uses such as a
storage room.
To delay the toilet pit filling up, in the case of a pit latrine .
No toilet available at the workplace .
Open defecation is embedded as a routine or social norm,
or there are social taboos.
Open defecation free
Open defecation free" (ODF) is a phrase first used in
community-led total sanitation (CLTS) programs.
The Indian Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
has in mid-2015 defined "open defecation free" as "the
termination of fecal-oral transmission. This definition
is part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India
Campaign).
UNICEF In Action
CATS Pilots
WASH in Health Centres
Institution Strengthening
Communication support
Advocacy support
COMMUNICATION SUPPORT :
ROLE OF BOLLYWOOD