Melting Pots
Of the 10 persons defecating in the open globally, six are Indians. By 2019, six will be from African countries, and none from India, as the …
Rural poor yet to see benefits of improving sanitation in Tanzania
Open defecation has reduced from 20% in 2012 to 5% in 2017 but benefits have largely gone to the rich
Ethiopia curbed open defecation at fastest rate; what can India learn?
Unlike India, Ethiopia has recognised sanitation as a health problem and focused on behavioural change over toilet construction
Toilet-linked biogas plants tackle faecal sludge problem in Gujarat’s villages
The system not only prevented open defecation, addressed septage issue, but also gave easy access to clean and cheap fuel for cooking needs
Open defecation continues despite new toilets
Removing open defecation was one of the most touted goals of Swachh Bharat Mission, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lakhs of toilets have …
'Poor sanitation not only has a health dimension but also an economic and environmental one'
Down To Earth spoke to Kebede Worku, Ethiopia's State Minister for Health, on the turnaround that his country has brought about in the field of …
Is open defecation back in India?
The latest WHO-UNICEF data shows at least one-sixth of India’s rural population still defecate in the open and a quarter doesn’t have …
After WASH report, burden of eradicating open defecation shifts to Africa
Around 196 million of the 494 million people practising open defecation in the world are from sub-Saharan Africa
The cleanest cities of India: Indore tops the chart
Indore has also been ranked the cleanest city of India in Swachh Survekshan Surveys since 2017
Access to drinking water, sanitation improve across states, urban-rural divide remains: NFHS-5
Despite progress on sanitation front, several states reported every third or fourth person having no access to improved facilities
Inaugural issue of Down To Earth Hindi exposes poor progress of Swachh Bharat Mission
Besides pointing out the associated risks of poor sanitation, the analysis also shows the enormous challenge before the NDA government
Open defecation in Nigeria: Faecal sludge is country's clicking time bomb
The country, which has the largest number of people defacting in the open, needs to frame a safe toilet technology and treat its faecal sludge, …
ODF India: Is a critical government survey on toilet access, use being withheld?
According to high-level government sources, the survey results contradict the government’s open-defecation free status claim
New study points out how ODF villages are better off
Non-ODF villages much more at risk of contamination, finds study by Centre, UNICEF
No toilet, no food; is this how India will become ODF?
Kiran Bedi's order, suspending free rice distribution scheme for Puducherry's poorest families from end of May unless they produce a certificate …
Cleaning a dirty patch
There has been a massive spike in constructing toilets in record time in Gonda district. But it remains to be seen whether it would lead to real …
Begging to whistling, rural India doing everything to end open defecation
Several villages in India are coming up with out-of-the-box ideas to discourage open defecation
India leads the world’s failure story in eradicating open defecation, malnutrition
New WHO-UNICEF report warns that lack of progress on sanitation would undermine gains from access to safe drinking water
Sub-Saharan Africans spend 60 hours a year finding a private place to defecate
The state of sanitation is deteriorating in Sub-Saharan Africa, with countries switching from open defecation to unsafe toilets
World Water Day: Solving water issues key to achieving ODF status
Here’s an example of a village in Nagaland that journeyed from being one of the most backward districts in India to being open defecation free
Focus on community sanitary complexes: Standing Committee to govt
In its latest report on the status of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), the Standing Committee on Rural Development said that community …
First-of-a-kind study on community-led sanitation reveals implementation challenges
The study identified 43 implementation- and community-related factors which reportedly affect CLT
Fast track work on ODF+ and ODF++: Parliamentary panel to govt
Less than 30% of cities certified as ODF+ under Phase 2 of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban-2), the panel’s report found
Swachh Bharat Mission: Haryana’s race for ODF tag pushed people in debt traps
Villagers were forced to construct toilets, but were not given subsidy promised under SBM
Bihar plans afforestation drive in villages along Ganga river
100 open defecation free villages located along the river have been selected for the drive