Photo: Drying racks are part of the tangible changes resulting from the Total Sanitation behaviour. The utensils are not drying down on the ground any more.
Total Behaviour Change in Sanitation and Hygiene - After ODF
Following the ODF declaration, the second stage of behaviour change begins. This stage focuses on promoting hygiene and sanitation behaviours beyond toilet use.
While the drive towards ODF status is taken as the targeted first step to achieve, strengthening hygiene behaviour is equally if not even more important. Hand washing with soap is one of the most important behaviours to promote. Research shows that children living in households exposed to hand-washing promotion and soap had half the diarrhoeal rates of children living in control neighbourhoods. The long term impact appears to lead to better child development and better cognitive and educational achievements.
RWSSP-WN II is committed to support communities to achieve Total Behaviour Change and Total Sanitation status. The key criteria listed in the Nepal National Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan (2011) are:
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All households should have access to toilets with proper use, with no practice of open defecation.
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All institutions must have toilet access for men and women as well as hand washing facilities.
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All schools must have separate toilets for men/boys and women/girls as well as hand washing facilities.
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All institutional toilets must provide access to all including differently abled children, youth, adults.
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All individuals should practice key hygiene behaviours.
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General cleanliness is prevailing and sustained in the surroundings. This includes, for example, use of utensil drying racks and solid waste pits.
As of 2018, the Total Sanitation indicators are being revised by the national-level task force.