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Toilet mystery: Blaming and shaming not the way

Lack of sanitation is leading to avoidable deaths of infants, and underweight and stunted children

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Sunita Narain
What makes people change their behaviour? Is it education? Is it the availability of options? Is it societal pressure? Is it the fear of penalties? Or is it all of these and more? This is a zillion-dollar question for policymakers trying to curb climate change or stop open defecation.

Take the matter of toilets. Getting people to build and use them is turning out to be the biggest conundrum. Mahatma Gandhi had said that sanitation is more important than independence. Lack of sanitation is leading to avoidable deaths of infants, and underweight and stunted children. This is unacceptable.

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