Since 2003 Nepal has been actively promoting the Community Led Total Sanitation approach and, from 2005 onwards; the School Led Total Sanitation approach, to promote Open Defecation Free (ODF) behaviours. The Government has put sanitation and hygiene at the forefront of its development agenda through the Nepal Country Plan for the International Year of Sanitation in 2008, the Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan (SHMP) in 2011, and by acknowledging sanitation as a fundamental right in the new Constitution of Nepal (2015). The study, which is the object of this paper, was launched with the aim of measuring the sanitation and hygiene status of seven districts that were officially declared ODF on or before 2013. This paper presents the results of the study and highlights those factors that have made the Sanitation Social Movement a success in Nepal. Although scaling-up the approach in Nepal has experienced some setbacks, among them the April 2015 earthquake which damaged more than 390,000 household toilets, the Sanitation Social Movement has been a resounding success. The study found that 98% of the households assessed had access to improved toilets and more than two thirds had a handwashing station in their home. All of the schools (n=70) visited had access to toilets, of which 84% were functional at the time of the assessment. All health facilities (n=70) visited also had functional toilets, and 87% had access to water and soap.

Bibliographic information

Shrestha, P., Shrestha, S., Dhakal, S., Ahmad, T. (2018). Lessons from a Post ODF Assessment in Nepal United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, USA

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Nepal

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