Sustaining toilet use: next steps for sanitation policy in Bihar

Despite significant progress in the last decades, rates of open defecation in India remain high. Bihar has some of the highest rates of open defecation in the country, with 70% of people in rural Bihar defecating in the open.

The Government of India is committed to eliminating this practice, and through the Swachh Bharat Mission is funding incentives to construct household- and community-owned toilets. An important part of this programme is challenging pre-set behaviours and changing attitudes around sanitation and hygiene.

Working together with Ideas42 and World Vision India, we designed and evaluated behavioural intervention to increase latrine usage in rural Bihar – Improving H.A.B.I.T (Households’ Attitudes and Behaviours to Improve Toilet use).

To share some of the key findings from this evaluation, which will feed into the Government’s Swachh Bharat Mission strategy, we are organising a workshop in Patna, Bihar, on Friday, 28 June. The event will bring together policymakers, researchers, and practitioners within water, sanitation, and hygiene sector, with the aim to share lessons learnt and key opportunities and challenges in promoting sustainable toilet use.