Rural Sanitation Transformation in Himachal Pradesh

The relationship between poor sanitation, water borne disease, mortality and malnutrition is well documented. Statistics about the number of deaths due to diarrhea as well as stunting caused by malnutrition due to poor absorption of nutrients, are broadcast regularly as a way of awakening consciousness about the problem.Yet sanitation has always been the poor cousin when compared with drinking water, in terms of the attention and financial support it has received even though the two are always clubbed together as part of the same sector. This is both a reflection of the relatively lower importance given to sanitation by donors and governments and even more, the limited priority attached to sanitation by those in need of it. As a result, the world remains off track to meet the sanitation MDG target. The key culprit for this is India. Against the global open defecation rate of 15%, in India over 50% of its 1.2 billion population continue to defecate in the open everyday. However, even in this dismal scenario, there are beacons of hope. Himachal Pradesh, one of India’s smaller states with 6.7 million people and a predominantly rural population has shown tremendous improvement in recent years. This case study documents the policy and process which brought about the change and the challenges that remain.