Sanitation revolution: toilets movements in India and China

By Yang Kunyi Source:Global Times Published: 2019/11/5 20:23:40

The central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh recently came out with a novel plan that marries wedding with sanitation. The provincial government would pay those tying the knot a sum of up to Rs 51,000 ($720) provided the couple show a selfie proving that they have a toilet in the house. 

Indian schoolchildren talk in front of a poster bearing a quote from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a school run by sanitation charity Sulabh International in New Delhi on September 22, 2014. Photo: AFP



According to the plan reported by the Times of India, couples from the economically backward sections of society can apply for the government funding if they send two application forms along with a selfie with a toilet at the groom's house. 

This is not the first attempt by a local government in the country of 1.3 billion to improve sanitation by encouraging couples to build toilets before getting married. Back in 2013, the same province had launched a similar initiative, calling for couples to send photos of themselves with toilets to get a government benefit of 15,000 rupees ($212). However, despite making some progress, India's toilet movement can learn from China's efforts in revolutionizing its toilets, say experts. 

India and Modi's toilet revolution 

India has long been troubled by sanitation problems. According to a report by United Nations Children's Fund, around 620 million people in India defecate in open areas, causing health risks such as diarrhea. 

The installation of toilets is also widely seen as a solution to the south Asian nation's troubling record of sexual violence, especially in poorer regions, as women could be more vulnerable to crimes when they need to go out in the fields in the dark. According to a research by the UNICEF in 2017, around half of the rape cases in India occurred when women went outdoors to relieve themselves. 

To address these issues, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) movement in 2014 in an attempt to solve the problem of open defecation. In September this year, Modi was awarded the Global Goalkeepers Goals Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for his efforts in improving hygiene in India. According to Modi, the percentage of Indian people that have access to a toilet rose to 90 percent from 40 percent after he came to office. 

However, there are still problems around people's access to those toilets, a resident surnamed Das, who has been living in Kolkata in West Bengal state for more than two decades, told the Global Times. 

"As far as I'm aware, Swachh Bharat is a huge investment, and over the years there are many toilets being built up in the area, and especially in rural regions where the problem of open defecation is more prominent," Das told the Global Times.

"But people still don't have enough access to toilets in some areas and some haven't got used to the idea of using a toilet."

"The toilets also lack long term maintenance and become unusable over the years," Das noted. 

According to a report by the scroll.in, although the rate of toilet construction has proved to be high as part of the sanitation movement, some of the lavatories were falling into disrepair within half a year of construction, with only 14.4 percent of villages completing the second level of verification required as part of the project. 

Revolutionizing toilets in China 

The Chinese government's toilet movement launched in 2015 is an integral part of a campaign aiming to boost the country's tourism industry. The campaign focuses on rural households that are usually equipped with dirty latrines in open areas. According to a report by the Xinhua News Agency, China's coverage of sanitary toilets rose from 7.5 percent in 1993 to 80.3 percent in 2016, with some regions exceeding 90 percent coverage. 

According to government statistics, from 2015 to 2017, a total of 1.64 billion yuan ($234 million) was spent on the construction and refurbishment of over 70,000 toilets. A total of 64,000 new tourist toilets will need to be built or refurnished from 2018 to 2020 nationwide.

In a report recognizing China's efforts to build lavatories, UNICEF attributed the country's success in the toilet revolution to the "strong political leadership, healthy financial investment and prioritization at a local level." 

Liao Xinbo, deputy director of the Department of Health in South China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times that he believes that the successful implementation of public toilets in China's rural areas to a large extent owes its success to huge government subsidies, but more importantly, it has come about because of education on the importance of hygiene and better maintenance and investment at the local level.

"Many villages, especially those having tourist spots have an especially big incentive to refurbish their toilets because it can attract more visitors," Liao said, "The shabby and dirty public toilets have been an obstacle to local tourism development, and by improving the travel experience for tourists, local tourism business can be more profitable in the long run."

Liao also noted that the financial burden on the government can be reduced by encouraging individual sites to build and maintain their own toilets. 

"I think this is also why the toilet revolution in India is turning to be more localized," Liao said.

"Only when villagers see the benefits of sanitary toilets on the local hygiene and economic development could they be encouraged to utilize and maintain toilets in the long term and in a more sustainable way," Liao added.


Newspaper headline: Loo woes


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