IEC

One of the stated Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations is to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation and to halve the proportion of population left without the same by 2015.

Despite India’s multi-decade battle to eliminate open defecation, toilets are absent in 69% of rural India (Census 2011).

Rural sanitation is primarily funded by the Union Government. The state governments and beneficiaries contribute towards construction and maintenance of toilets as well.

In partnership with the Government of Karnataka, Arghyam ran a communication campaign aimed at creating a demand for improved sanitation. 

On-site sanitation systems are options which help treat the waste at source, rather than dealing with it several miles away in a centralized manner. In the absence of sewerage systems and piped supplies, communities have to devise decentralized ways to deal with their shit. Some of the most common on-site sanitation systems include septic tanks and pit latrines.

The 73^rd amendment to the Constitution of India made Gram Panchayats the hub of all activities in the rural sphere. It gave legitimacy to Panchayat institutions, devolving powers as well as finances for their effective functioning.

Author: Vijay Krishna

Author: Radhika Viswanathan

Author: Madhavi Purohit

The rights and needs of the fairer sex being overlooked by a male dominated society is not something that is unheard of. Access to education, health services and sanitation are given a cold shoulder when it concerns women.

2008 saw the coming together of various missions that coordinated and monitored sanitation projects in Kerala’s rural and urban areas. The Suchitwa Mission was conceived to aid and advice local self government institutions in matters relating to sanitation and also to monitor the implementation and progress of the Total Sanitation Campaign in the state.