Did you know that over 4.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe sanitation facilities? That’s almost two-thirds of the global population, and the consequences of poor sanitation can be devastating for public health. The lack of access to clean toilets is not only an inconvenience but also a major health risk. The World Health Organization estimates that 432,000 people die each year from diarrheal diseases caused by poor sanitation, with children under the age of five being the most vulnerable. This statistic alone should be enough to convince us that something needs to be done.
In India, the GoI’s Swachh Bharat Mission remedied this by constructing millions of toilets, which is bringing tangible health benefits to these communities. Not only does the introduction of toilets reduce the burden on public health facilities by limiting spread of water borne and poor sanitation related diseases, the construction and maintenance of these facilities creates its own employment. Of course, healthier communities also miss fewer days of work and school.
However, the problem of sanitation has two sides: one is access to sanitation, the other is the behavioural change that allows people to practise good sanitation practices.
This is a problem that Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment is acutely aware of. Over the years, Harpic has built a strong foundation of communicating the need for toilet hygiene and have designed several campaigns that target specific problems that the general public may be unaware of. Access to toilets is a problem of infrastructure, but the problem of dirty toilets is an avoidable problem that can be addressed by inculcating the right mindset.
The Mindset problem.
One of our biggest challenges lies in the lack of awareness of good sanitation practices. Many people who grow up in communities that don’t have adequate facilities don’t understand the link between good hygiene, health, disease and immunity. In essence, they can’t be expected to practise what they don’t fully understand.
Moreover, public and common toilet facilities are seen as those belonging to the community: instead of it being a shared responsibility, it becomes no one’s responsibility. Often, these facilities are so dirty and ill-managed that people stop using them.
Habits are another reason why uptake of toilets has been slow. As the NITI Aayog found in a report of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, men in several parts of the country see their morning ablutions as a way to ‘take in the air, do their morning walk, and see their fields.’
What we are battling then, is not a lack of access, but a mindset. As the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan found, behaviour change is the key ingredient to ensure continued success of the mission.
The Many Pronged Mindset Solution
To change mindsets, what we need is consistent and collective communication. The GoI has partnered with several agents of change in the form of actors, celebrities, activists and thought leaders to create content that travels beyond the occasional government sponsored advert or poster.
More importantly, the GoI is also investing in imparting sanitation literacy to school children in the form of lessons within their core curriculum, as well as through the establishment of student “Swachhata Senanis” who spread awareness amongst their peers. As the sub-group found, younger generations are far more open to change, and become advocates amongst their families for healthier habits. Moreover, children who grow up using toilets never go back to the old ways.
Popular culture has also embraced the movement. Not only have several celebrities jumped onto the bandwagon to champion the cause and lead cleanliness drives in their neighbourhoods, but thought provoking movies like “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” and “Pad Man” have sparked conversation by directly addressing the very mindsets and biases that NGOs and GoI encounter when encouraging communities to embrace safe sanitation practices.
Moreover, brands like Harpic are doing far reaching work when it comes to the safety of sanitation workers. For public toilets to be maintained, we need more people to become sanitation workers. In the past, entering the profession had few rewards. Today, as we recognise the importance of good sanitation, we also recognise the importance of the work sanitation workers do.
Harpic has set up India’s first Toilet College in 2016, with the stated objective of improving the quality of life of manual scavengers through their rehabilitation by linking them with dignified livelihood options. The college operates as a knowledge sharing platform with an aim to uplift the lives of the sanitation workers by educating them about their rights, health hazards, use of technology and alternate livelihood skills. Workers trained by the college are provided placement with various organisations. Following the successful proof of concept in Rishikesh, World Toilet Colleges have opened in Maharashtra, Aurangabad, in partnership with Harpic, Jagran Pehel and Maharashtra Government.
Mission Swachhta aur Paani, an initiative by News18 and Harpic India, has been a pathbreaking effort in mobilising a mass movement to promote better sanitation, and hygiene. The initiative has been able to collate disparate and isolated efforts into a single cause that every Indian can join and contribute to. It advocates equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and strongly believes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility.
April 7th marks the occasion of World Health Day, and Mission Swachhta aur Paani are bringing together a panel that comprises policy makers, activists, actors, celebrities and thought leaders together with Reckitt’s leadership and News18 to dwell on the problems of sanitation in India, and the solutions that are emerging.
The event will feature a keynote address by Reckitt leadership, interactive Q&A sessions, and panel discussions. The speakers include Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Brajesh Pathak, Director of External Affairs & Partnerships, SOA, Reckitt, Ravi Bhatnagar, UP Governor Anandiben Patel, actors Shilpa Shetty and Kajal Aggarwal, Regional Marketing Director of Hygiene, Reckitt South Asia, Saurabh Jain, sportsperson Sania Mirza and Padma Shri S. Damodaran, Founder of Gramalaya, among others. The event will also feature on-ground activations in Varanasi, including a visit to Primary School Naruar and a ‘Chaupal’ interaction with sanitation heroes and volunteers.
The more we understand that toilets are a shared responsibility, the more safe sanitation we practise. The more these practices become a habit, the easier (and sooner!) we embrace a Swasth Bharat with its root in a Swachh Bharat.
Join us here to add your voice to the movement, and to learn how you too can do your part.
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