Transforming Sanitation in India

In 2014, the Government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Clean India Mission, one of the world's most ambitious public health programmes.

The goal: end open defecation so that every person, in every village and town, uses a safe toilet.

The results of Phase 1 (2014–2019) were extraordinary. Approximately 500 million people, over 110 million households, got access to household toilets and started using them. On 2 October 2019 — the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi — India marked the completion of Phase 1, with villages across all 36 states and union territories declaring themselves open defecation free (ODF).

But access to a toilet was only the beginning. Open defecation is a habit built over generations, rarely discussed openly, and deeply tied to social norms, including around gender and community life. Changing it required far more than bricks and mortar, and therefore, Jan Andolan or Community participation has a major role to play.

Phase 2, which began in 2020, takes the mission further — to what is called ODF+.

What Does ODF+ Mean?

ODF+ means communities go beyond simply having toilets. It means waste is managed safely end-to-end: solid waste is collected and composted; liquid and grey water is treated; public spaces are kept clean. Older single-pit toilets are upgraded to safer twin-pit designs. 

Organic waste, including cattle dung, is converted into biogas for energy and fertiliser. And critically, the behaviour change and community monitoring that drove Phase 1 is sustained. The Government identified stepwise categories of ODF+, the highest being the ODF+ model. Till May 2026, 504,000 lakh villages of about 586,000 villages are now ODF Plus Model.

UNICEF's Role: From Policy to Practice

UNICEF has partnered with the Government of India for 75 years. Today, on water and sanitation, it works alongside 15 state governments, translating national policy into real, lasting change at the district, block, and village level. 

Linking Sanitation to Children's Health and Learning

Repeated gut infections from unsafe sanitation impair a child's ability to absorb nutrients, regardless of how much food they eat. This invisible damage drives malnutrition and stunting even in households that are not food insecure. 

UNICEF supports planning, recognising that clean toilets and clean hands are among the most effective nutritional interventions available. Handwashing with soap promoted at scale in schools and early childhood centres across India protects children's immunity, cuts diarrhoeal disease, and helps children stay in school and learn.

Building Skills at Every Level

Real change happens at the community level. UNICEF has trained master trainers from states and districts, and equipped village-level leaders, including elected gram panchayat (local council) representatives, with the practical knowledge to deliver and maintain sanitation services. A dedicated government-run learning platform tracks this capacity building across the country: watersanitationlearning.gov.in

Climate-Proofing Sanitation

A flood or cyclone can destroy years of sanitation progress overnight. UNICEF has developed 51 climate-resilient sanitation infrastructure designs, along with practical protocols and handbooks for local governments, so that toilets, drainage systems, and waste treatment units can withstand the extreme weather that communities increasingly face.

Dignity for Sanitation Workers

The people who empty pits, clean drains, and maintain community sanitation systems perform essential work in some of the most hazardous conditions imaginable. UNICEF has advocated consistently for their safety and dignity, supporting access to protective equipment, health insurance, and pension benefits. 

This advocacy led to sanitation workers being formally recognised in the Government's national Swachhata Hi Sewa campaign, and to the development of a national Standard Operating Procedure for their occupational safety.

Generating Evidence, Sharing Knowledge

UNICEF funds research and evaluations to understand what works, what does not, and who is still being left behind informing both India's programme and the global conversation on sanitation. It works to bring in relevant lessons from other countries, and to share India's remarkable experience with the world.

The Results So Far

The numbers tell part of the story. Infant mortality has declined in districts where toilets are built and used. Households in open defecation-free communities save an estimated INR 50,000 per year through reduced illness, fewer medical bills, and less lost working time. Women and girls report greater safety, freedom from fear, and restored dignity — no longer forced into fields and roadsides in the dark.

But perhaps the most significant shift is harder to measure: what communities now believe is normal, and what they refuse to accept. Sanitation is increasingly seen not as a government benefit, but as a right — actively demanded, collectively protected.

The Journey Continues

India's sanitation story continues. Sustaining behaviour change across generations, reaching the urban poor and the remotest rural households,  safely treating all waste, professionalising the sanitation workforce, and building systems resilient to climate change, these are the challenges of this decade. The goal is SDG 6.2: safely managed sanitation for every person in India by 2030.

UNICEF is committed to this journey alongside the Government of India, civil society partners, research institutions, and the communities driving the change themselves.