The announcement of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by the Indian government, back in 2014, created tremendous momentum to leapfrog the country towards reaching open defecation free status. By the end of 2020, the mission achieved significant success with a multi-fold increase in access to toilets.
Yet, urban poor populations living in informal settlements are disproportionately disadvantaged, and rely heavily on community toilets, which significantly increases their exposure to infections, as has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This has amplified the need for Individual household toilets (IHHT) to reduce the disproportionate sanitation burdens on low-income communities.