HT Parekh One Home One Toilet (OHOT) Program

Impact evaluation of the One Home One Toilet (OHOT) Program

Partner/Client
HT Parekh Foundation

Sector
Sanitation

Location
Pimpri Chinchwad and Kolhapur, Maharashtra

Shelter Associates (SA) had been implementing the One Home One Toilet (OHOT) program to address the issue of open defecation in the slums of Pimpri Chinchwad and Kolhapur, amongst others. The OHOT program builds on the premise that more individual household toilets will reduce the strain on community toilets, end open defecation, and improve health and hygiene outcomes among communities.
The retrospective impact evaluation was conducted by 4th Wheel Social Impact for the component of the One Home One Toilet (OHOT) program enabled by HT Parekh foundation.

APPROACH

A total of 305 beneficiaries were reached, out of which 52 were from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and 253 were from Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) slums.
The study assessed process and outcome areas of inquiry across three levels -individual, household, and community.
A slum profile was also used for observations by the research team, with a specific focus on area cleanliness, state of community toilet blocks infrastructured and open defecation practices.
A beneficiary survey that delved into access to sanitation, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) towards sanitation, housing, water and sanitation infrastructure, program engagement, impacts on health, safety and social norms, and overall slum conditions in terms of infrastructure, was utilised to primarily understand individual and household level impacts.
In addition to the main beneficiary survey, a structured interview tool was developed for each of the other respondent types, i.e.: 1) Community leaders, 2) Government stakeholders, and 3) SA Implementation staff.

Community Toilet Blocks (CTBs) had been difficult to access for children, elders, pregnant women, and persons with injury or disability as the CTBs would have overflowing water making the pathway slippery. After construction of household toilets, 88% of the total respondents across PCMC and KMC slums reported an improvement in ease of access and convenience.
Lack of privacy was also an issue as CTB toilets didn’t have doors or latches. Women respondents highlighted safety concerns as they needed company to go after sunset. Since the installation of household toilets, respondents in KMC stated an improvement in privacy (71%) and safety (67%) in comparison to respondents in PCMC stating improvements in privacy (56%) and safety (40%).
In both locations, male members were not using household toilets instead preferring to use CTBs out of habit.
Earlier, women used to restrict their food and liquid consumption at night to avoid their visits to community toilet blocks. But, after the construction of household toilets, the restriction of food and liquid consumption was reduced from 19% and 27% respectively to only 2%.
For 75% of the respondents in both KMC and PCMC, the biggest advantage of having a toilet at home during the Covid-19 pandemic was convenience, hygiene, and reduced exposure to disease.

Apart from the construction of the toilet, an all-encompassing approach must be adopted to ensure proper sanitation. Sufficient ventilation and sunlight should be available, hand wash basins must be integrated into the toilet design; and there is a need to create spaces for water storage in toilets.
For those members, especially male, who were habituated to using community toilets, CTBs should be cleaned regularly and renovated. CTBs should be equipped with lights and a dustbin for trash disposal. Proper doors and latches should be available on each toilet door. To reduce mosquito infestation, CTB water tanks should be covered with lids and tanks should be cleaned regularly.
Among those households whose toilets were linked to septic tanks, limited knowledge around septic tank maintenance created a stench in the house as well as the area. Thus, recommendations on frequent septic tank maintenance and awareness training and regular desludging emerged.