Understanding the gap between knowledge and practice of handwashing in rural India: evidence from a cross-sectional study.

Limited studies in India had captured the gap in knowledge and practice of handwashing in the community. This study assesses the gap in knowledge and practice of handwashing in rural India. The study was conducted across 10 districts in five states of India - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal from December 2021 to January 2022 by the SIGMA Foundation, Kolkata in collaboration with UNICEF India.

Assessing the Impact of Leveraging Traditional Leadership on Access to Sanitation in Rural Zambia.

Open defecation is practiced by more than one billion people throughout the world and leads to significant public health issues including infectious disease transmission and stunted growth in children. Zambia implemented community-led total sanitation (CLTS) as an intervention to eliminate open defecation in rural areas. To support CLTS and the attainment of open defecation free communities, chiefs were considered key agents of change and were empowered to drive CLTS and improve sanitation for their chiefdom.

Community-Level Sanitation Coverage More Strongly Associated with Child Growth and Household Drinking Water Quality than Access to a Private Toilet in Rural Mali.

Sanitation access can provide positive externalities; for example, safe disposal of feces by one household prevents disease transmission to households nearby. However, little empirical evidence exists to characterize the potential health benefits from sanitation externalities. This study investigated the effect of community sanitation coverage versus individual household sanitation access on child health and drinking water quality.

Chiengi District, Zambia Open Defecation Free After 1 Year of Community-Led Total Sanitation.

Nearly one quarter of Zambians lack access to sanitation facilities. In rural communities, the government of Zambia adopted community-led total sanitation (CLTS) to address this problem. One year after the implementation of a mobile-to-web monitored CLTS intervention, Chiengi District, Zambia, was verified as open defecation free with complete 100% coverage of household-level latrines.

Beliefs, Behaviors, and Perceptions of Community-Led Total Sanitation and Their Relation to Improved Sanitation in Rural Zambia.

Inadequate hygiene and sanitation remain leading global contributors to morbidity and mortality in children and adults. One strategy for improving sanitation access is community-led total sanitation (CLTS), in which participants are guided into self-realization of the importance of sanitation through activities called "triggering." This qualitative study explored community members' and stakeholders' sanitation, knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors during early CLTS implementation in Zambia.