Trying to change attitudes on caste is perhaps an even more formidable challenge than trying to reduce open defecation

In 1999, when the Total Sanitation Campaign was launched, the government started setting aside funds for information, education, and communication (IEC) to convince people about the importance of latrine use. Yet, as the first part of this series discussed, it is still common for rural Indians to defecate in the open despite having a latrine.

Why has the money spent on IEC not translated into behaviour change?

Our study of two villages, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, offers some clues. These villages showed the greatest improvement in latrine coverage since 2014-15 in districts where the IEC spending per open defecator in the last year was at least five times the state average.................Read more

Source: livemint