Poo to the Loo campaign
A powerful 2013 sanitation campaign
Campaign
Transforming India: The Journey from Swachh Bharat to a Cleaner Tomorrow
In an extraordinary leap towards improved health and cleanliness, India's Swachh Bharat Mission has rewritten the narrative of sanitation and hygiene.
This visionary initiative by the Government of India has brought essential sanitation facilities to millions, marking a transformative era in our country's history.
A Look Back at the Pioneering Poo to Loo Initiative
UNICEF's groundbreaking 'Take Poo to the Loo' campaign in 2013 contributed to this transformation.
In collaboration with the Indian Institutes of Technology, this campaign catalysed our fight against open defecation, forming a part of the broader Total Sanitation Campaign initiated by the Indian government in 1999.
As recently as 2015, a significant portion of our 568 million-strong population had inadequate access to toilets. Fast forward to 2019, and the landscape has shifted dramatically, thanks to concerted efforts to reduce the number of people lacking access to toilets by an estimated 450 million.
Swachh Bharat's Next Phase: Upholding and Advancing Sanitary Practices
As UNICEF continues its partnership with the Swachh Bharat Mission, now in its progressive second phase, we focus on maintaining the momentum. This phase emphasizes the continued use of toilets and the importance of hygiene across every corner of India.
Despite our achievements, the challenge persists in ensuring these practices are a regular part of life, especially for the most vulnerable in urban and rural settings.
Key facts
Phase II of the Swachh Bharat Mission seeks to create ODF Plus villages – villages that sustain the gains made under phase I to ensure the ODF status of communities and improve the general cleanliness of rural and urban centres through solid and liquid waste management.
Solid and liquid waste management includes the management of bio-degradable waste such as human, cattle, agricultural and food waste, and non -biodegradable waste such as plastic, metals, e-waste, etc. Another vital area that is included and requires significant attention is managing and awareness of menstrual waste.
Together we can change India
As a citizen of India, I am proud of our country's rich and varied culture; we have a beautiful land. We want our sisters and brothers to survive, grow and develop as healthy individuals in a clean country.
Join the campaign
UNICEF has been supporting the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) phase I since 2014, and now again under phase II, working with the Government to strategize and support ways forward for rural sanitation programming in the country.
