UN Monitoring Report on Indian Sanitation Efforts

India’s sanitation achievements have been a major focus of international attention, especially under United Nations monitoring mechanisms designed to evaluate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): Clean Water and Sanitation. The UN’s regular assessments provide a balanced picture of India’s progress, highlighting significant accomplishments as well as persisting challenges in achieving universal, safe, and sustainable sanitation.

Background and Global Framework

The United Nations, through agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), operates the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) to track water and sanitation outcomes worldwide. This programme defines sanitation standards, benchmarks, and indicators that form the global basis for measuring progress towards SDG 6.
India’s sanitation journey gained renewed momentum with the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014, comprising rural and urban components. The programme’s main objective was to eradicate open defecation, build individual household toilets, and ensure a cleaner environment across both rural and urban areas. The UN has since integrated India’s data into its monitoring reports to assess global sanitation progress.

India’s Sanitation Efforts and Achievements

The Swachh Bharat Mission transformed India’s sanitation landscape by promoting large-scale toilet construction and behavioural change campaigns. Official reports declared India open-defecation-free (ODF) in 2019, an achievement that was reflected in UN monitoring updates.
UN analyses have acknowledged several significant improvements:

• The proportion of the Indian population practising open defecation fell sharply between 2015 and 2019.
• Millions of toilets were constructed under the SBM, expanding access in both rural and urban households.
• The country reported nearly universal toilet coverage in rural regions by 2019.
• Rural sanitation coverage increased from less than 40% in 2014 to nearly 100% by 2019, one of the fastest improvements globally.
• Access to safe drinking water and hygiene facilities improved in parallel, supported by the Jal Jeevan Mission, which complemented sanitation efforts.

The UN has described India’s campaign as one of the largest behavioural change initiatives in history, mobilising communities, local governments, and private partners.

Persisting Challenges

Despite considerable achievements, UN assessments also highlight areas that require continued attention. One major concern relates to the sustainability and consistency of toilet use. While construction figures are impressive, behavioural adaptation has not been universal, and in some regions open defecation practices persist due to social habits, lack of maintenance, or water scarcity.
Another challenge lies in the verification of ODF status, as discrepancies sometimes exist between reported figures and independent evaluations. In several states, shared or community toilets were included in ODF counts, although UN definitions of improved sanitation emphasise household-based facilities that are safely managed and not shared.
Urban areas face additional concerns such as:

• Poor waste-water and faecal sludge management.
• Overcrowded slums lacking functional toilets.
• Inefficient solid waste disposal systems.

UN monitoring also draws attention to equity issues, noting that sanitation benefits are not uniformly distributed. Marginalised groups, remote tribal communities, and some urban poor populations continue to face barriers to safe sanitation access.

Impact on Health, Society, and the Environment

Improved sanitation has had a profound impact on public health. Reductions in open defecation correlate with lower rates of diarrhoeal and parasitic diseases, cleaner groundwater sources, and improved child nutrition outcomes.
Socially, sanitation access has enhanced dignity and safety for women and children, who previously faced risks associated with open defecation. The initiative also spurred job creation in waste management, toilet construction, and hygiene promotion sectors, strengthening the rural economy.
Environmentally, better waste management and reduced contamination of soil and water resources contribute to more sustainable ecosystems. However, the UN has cautioned that the benefits can be sustained only if waste collection, treatment, and disposal systems are fully integrated into sanitation planning.

Policy Lessons from UN Monitoring

The UN’s monitoring experience with India underscores several key lessons for global sanitation policy:

• Infrastructure alone is insufficient — effective sanitation requires behavioural change, continuous awareness, and regular maintenance.
• Monitoring accuracy must go beyond counting toilets to assessing actual use, maintenance, and hygiene outcomes.
• Integration with water supply systems ensures functionality, especially in rural areas where water scarcity can limit toilet use.
• Decentralised waste management and proper faecal sludge treatment must form the next phase of sanitation policy to prevent environmental hazards.

These insights have helped shape India’s next phase, known as Swachh Bharat Mission – Phase II, which emphasises ODF Plus — sustaining open defecation-free status while ensuring solid and liquid waste management.

Criticisms and Limitations

Although the UN has commended India’s progress, it has also noted several limitations:

• Verification inconsistencies: Independent assessments occasionally reveal lower usage rates than reported.
• Quality gaps: Some newly built toilets lack proper water supply or waste disposal facilities.
• Sustainability concerns: Long-term maintenance and behavioural change remain uncertain without continued community engagement.
• Urban disparity: While rural sanitation has improved remarkably, urban areas lag behind in waste-water treatment and sewage infrastructure.
• Equity gaps: Vulnerable communities continue to face infrastructural and financial challenges in achieving safe sanitation.

Nevertheless, the UN regards India’s experience as an important example of large-scale sanitation reform, showing how political will and mass participation can accelerate progress toward SDG 6.

Future Directions and Global Significance

The future of UN-monitored sanitation in India lies in enhancing quality and sustainability. The focus has now shifted to:

• Ensuring every household has safely managed sanitation services, meaning toilets connected to systems that hygienically dispose or treat waste.
• Strengthening waste-water recycling, faecal sludge management, and urban sanitation networks.
• Expanding behavioural change programmes for long-term cultural transformation.
• Leveraging digital monitoring systems for real-time tracking of sanitation progress.
• Promoting gender-sensitive and inclusive sanitation designs.

Internationally, India’s success story serves as a model for other developing countries struggling with sanitation access. The UN continues to cite India as a case study in community-led sanitation movements, demonstrating that large-scale transformation is possible through sustained policy focus, financial investment, and civic participation.