SBM: Collective effort for scaling up social change
The article has been authored by Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF India Representative, a.i.
It has been eight years since the Government of India launched the celebrated Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) or Clean India Mission to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage in the country. From 2014 to 2019, the initial phase of the mission was a huge success during which over 500 million people gained access to toilets at home for the first time. After this milestone was achieved, it was heartening to observe the national prioritisation of sanitation with the rollout of the SBM phase II, focusing on sustaining the Open Defecation Free (ODF) achievements and implementing targeted solid and liquid management initiatives across the country, particularly in rural areas where poor sanitation is a major area of concern.
Along with this, the government’s goal of providing functional household tap connections to all rural households in the country under the flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) with the idea of creating Swachh and Sujal Villages (clean and water-sufficient villages) will be a game-changer in the sector. The determination to attain both objectives by 2024 will have far-reaching benefits in improving child nutrition and health, helping to provide them with necessities of a happy and healthy life.
The tremendous drive reflects the long-term vision and leadership, supported by strong public sector funding commitments. The efforts to improve the living standards of the citizens is highly appreciable. The credit also goes to the public and private sectors, who supported the government and worked in collaboration to attain a common goal of a clean India. Creating a coalition of partners by the government, for technical and other support, helped accelerate the entire process. Most importantly, the role of people's participation in bringing about these social changes has been vital, without which reaching the goal would have been impossible.
The unique convergence and collaborative effort would help attain Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) service delivery, which are amongst the key components of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) and the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). It can be an prototype for other countries to follow. This focus on sanitation and the conservation of water sources also has a major role to play in the areas of environmental sustainability and climate change.
For the last few years, September 15 to October 2 is observed as the Swachhata Hi Sewa (SHS) fortnight, encouraging public participation in community sanitation activities. This year the SHS is focusing on the clearance and safe management of waste dumps which have been growing in for a long time in villages. The last fortnight saw massive public participation/mobilisation where over 10 million people joined the effort and over 400,000 villages which contained 580,000 garbage dumps were cleaned and beautified. It is an extraordinary effort and shows the wide public awareness, support, and enthusiasm for the sanitation effort.
UNICEF is proud to play a part in India's effort in achieving the goal of universal sanitation. It has made a significant contribution to the mobilisation of communities in making their villages ODF plus for example, tribal communities managing bio-waste, plastic waste and grey water management in Jaipur district of Rajasthan; and encouraging rural Self Help Group women in taking loans to improve household toilets in Sambalpur district in Odisha.
UNICEF is proud to be an active partner of the SBM over the past seven years. Our teams have worked in collaboration with the ministry of Jal Shakti- department of drinking water and sanitation, the ministry of panchayat raj, the ministry of housing and urban affairs and other multiple development partners; and in 15 states, supporting the planning and implementation efforts of setting up sanitation infrastructure and assisting in behaviour change initiatives.
These collective efforts will not only enhance visual cleanliness, it would catalyse far-reaching impacts in the areas of child nutrition and health, water conservation, environmental sustainability and climate change.
The article has been authored by Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF India Representative, a.i.