Open defecation by around 600 million people has been called our biggest national shame. The latest Census data (2011) reveals that the percentage of households having access to television and telephones in rural India exceeds the percentage of households with access to toilet facilities. India has a massive problem of open defecation. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimate that there are more than 620 million people practicing open defecation in the country, or half the population. Open defecation is prevalent among all socio-economic groups in rural India; however, the poorest section of the society has to suffer the most.
This well-established traditional behavior is deeply ingrained through practice from early childhood; it is taught.
Other reasons cited for its persistence in India include poverty (the inability to afford toilets), landlessness, tenants in housing without toilets (usually urban), and deep-rooted cultural and social norms that have established open defecation as an acceptable practice.
Corporates can play a major role in it as a CSR activity and brand building.
This well-established traditional behavior is deeply ingrained through practice from early childhood; it is taught.
Other reasons cited for its persistence in India include poverty (the inability to afford toilets), landlessness, tenants in housing without toilets (usually urban), and deep-rooted cultural and social norms that have established open defecation as an acceptable practice.
Corporates can play a major role in it as a CSR activity and brand building.