Can Demand for Toilets be Encouraged? Evidence from Indonesia
In Indonesia, the World Bank worked with the government to develop new approaches to discourage open defecation and increase the number of toilets in poor, rural areas. An impact evaluation of a program to foster demand for toilets by raising aware...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/02/19787209/can-demand-toilets-encouraged-evidence-indonesia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19287 |
| Summary: | In Indonesia, the World Bank worked
with the government to develop new approaches to discourage
open defecation and increase the number of toilets in poor,
rural areas. An impact evaluation of a program to foster
demand for toilets by raising awareness (instead of building
sanitation facilities and hoping people would use them)
showed a boost in toilet construction and a drop in
diarrheal illness. Proper sanitation reduces the spread of
illnesses such as diarrhea and typhoid, which can be
transmitted through fecal matter. In countries where people
practice open defecation in rivers, fields and forests,
these illnesses are harder to stop. Fecal matter is tracked
into homes and into food, causing life threatening disease,
particularly among infants and children under the age of
five. Development practitioners and policymakers seeking to
improve sanitation and reduce open defecation are still
searching for the most effective programs. Financial
constraints, inadequate water systems and habit of behavior
all play a role in slowing the end of open defecation. This
Evidence to Policy note was jointly produced by the World
Bank Group, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), and
the British government's Department for International Development. |
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