This policy brief presents the results of a study of the impact of toilet subsidies and behavior change communications on the practice of open defecation in rural India. TCI researchers conducted a cluster randomized trial of villages in Uttar Pradesh, providing one group of villages with subsidized toilets and another with subsidized toilets and behavior change communications about the dangers of open defecation. A control group received neither. While the group receiving subsidized toilets saw a modest drop in open defecation, it was virtually eradicated in villages receiving both toilets and behavior change communications. The researchers also found that the number of underweight children in the second group fell by 20%, coinciding with a 28% decrease in reported diarrhea cases.

Based on these results, TCI recommends that policymakers:

• Incorporate persuasive behavior change components along with toilet subsidies in sanitation campaigns.
• Prioritize sanitation in efforts to improve children’s nutrition and healthy development.

Download the policy brief