World Toilet Day 2018
Globally, 4.5 billion people live without safely managed sanitation and 892 million people practise open defecation (WHO-UNICEF, 2017). Poor sanitation can contribute to high rates of diarrhoeal disease and chronic infections that cause undernutrition and death in children in developing countries.
Latrine access and use are therefore crucial to improving sanitation as well as health outcomes for people living in poverty. On World Toilet Day 2018, we take the opportunity to share with you our latest blogs, articles and publications, capturing recent work and the latest evidence from 3ie-supported studies on interventions to promote latrine use and safe sanitation.
Blog: Measuring open defecation behaviour in India
Measuring latrine use can be quite tricky, prone to bias and it may not capture inequalities within households. This blog features 3ie’s recent work to improve the accuracy and standardisation of measurements through carefully designed surveys, structured observations and a latrine use question compilation that is a resource for sanitation researchers. Read more
Video: 3ie Promoting Latrine Use in Rural India Evidence Programme
This evidence programme is supporting studies that are examining the impact of behaviour science-informed interventions on latrine use. Watch this short video that captures insights from formative research on the barriers to latrine use in different states in India.
Additional links:
- Toilets are being constructed at a remarkable pace, but it’s not a Prem Katha yet for all sections of the population
- 3ie scoping paper and blog on promoting latrine use in India
3ie evidence gap map: WASH promotion in communities, schools and health facilities
Our updated 2018 gap map shows more studies are urgently needed in low- and middle-income countries to assess the impact of interventions on the sustained use of WASH technologies and slippage back to open defecation. There remains a critical need for studies on promotional approaches for vulnerable populations, especially people living with disabilities, for whom no studies are available.
View gap map | Read brief | Watch video
Other related 3ie publications
- 3ie systematic review summary: Promoting handwashing and sanitation behaviour change in low-and middle-income countries
Read paper - 3ie systematic review brief: Using a life-cycle approach to target WASH policies and programmes in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa
Read brief | Watch video