Sustainable rural sanitation at scale: results and lessons from India, Indonesia, and Tanzania

This paper describes an innovative rural sanitation initiative carried out by national and local governments and the local private sector in Indonesia, India and Tanzania with support from the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP). The project has two overall objectives: to improve sanitation for 6.5 million people and to learn how to design and implement sustainable and effective large scale rural sanitation programs. To date, over 8 million people have gained access to and are using improved sanitation facilities and almost six thousand rural communities have become open defecation free. The programmatic model combines Community-Led Total Sanitation with behaviour change communication and social marketing of sanitation to trigger behaviour change and sustain the demand and supply of improved sanitation facilities. This model is being replicated by various governments and development partners. The paper discusses key components including the large scale service delivery model, the financing strategy, and lessons to date.