Customising the toilet designs: a key growth factor under sanitation programme

“Sanitation for all” remains a challenge. In India, the national policies and programmes focussed on elimination of open defecation practice but the progress has been painfully slow. While there are positive results in terms of awareness on household sanitation and the desire to access improved systems, experiences of programme implementation show that the limited options of toilet design including the people’s perception on available technologies prove barriers towards universal access. There has been an increasing focus to influence the household’s behaviour towards sanitation but to make the toilets a convenient experience more to be done. The changing profile of the target populations, the paper argues demand not just the basic functionalities but durable structures, cost-effective technologies and appealing features Innovations in toilet designs along with effective ways excreta disposal can offer sustainable solutions.