Effectiveness of the Swachh Bharat Mission and barriers to ending open defecation in India: a systematic review

In 2016, nearly 60% of the population of India practiced open defecation (OD), which was 4 times the global rate, and reducing OD in India will be essential in meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 and improving global public health. The government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014 with one key goal for all Indian states to achieve OD-free (ODF) status by 2019. Despite reports from the Government of India on the success of SBM, the true ODF status of Indian states is still unknown. A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to assess the impact of SBM on OD in India, evaluate the barriers to reducing OD, and provide recommendations for future interventions to reduce or eliminate OD in India. A total of 237 publications were screened, and 22 were selected for inclusion. While the Prime Minister declared India ODF in 2019, studies suggest that the government monitoring system overestimates numbers of ODF villages and toilet coverage. Reasons for households’ continued OD practice include financial constraints, lack of water supply, governmental mistrust, cultural beliefs, and personal preference. Community incentives and penalties have been used to encourage proper sanitation practices with varying success. Overarching strategies and approaches that have worked well across study districts to reduce OD include high involvement of district leadership and innovative behavior-change and local community mobilization campaigns

The Paradox and Perception of Great Leadership

It is so easy to recall great leaders. When we think of the leaders in our lives there is always something about those people that draws us to them. History remembers great leaders, but it doesn\u27t necessarily remember great people. Adolf Hitler was single handedly one of the most influential and compelling leaders of all time. He successfully manipulated an entire army of people to believe what he believed. Tremendous leaders have a way of building trust with others that is unlike any other. We forget that people like Adolf Hitler were great leaders because today\u27s perception of leadership is so focused on what we want our leaders to be, rather than who they actually are. There is an overwhelming paradox between what it means to be a great leader and what it means to be a good person. Our research examines how society perceives leaders and what that it factor is that leaders use to captivate people and change who they are. A literature review was conducted to explore compelling leadership qualities and the perception behind what leadership entails. The USD and EBSCOhost databases were utilized to obtain peer-reviewed and scholarly journal articles. The results indicate that the reality of leadership isn\u27t always what we perceive, especially when authenticity is considered. Further studies researching the dynamic between what it means to lead as a result of being a good person, versus simply having the qualities of a leader, are suggested

Effectiveness of the Swachh Bharat Mission and barriers to ending open defecation in India: a systematic review

In 2016, nearly 60% of the population of India practiced open defecation (OD), which was 4 times the global rate, and reducing OD in India will be essential in meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.2 and improving global public health. The government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014 with one key goal for all Indian states to achieve OD-free (ODF) status by 2019. Despite reports from the Government of India on the success of SBM, the true ODF status of Indian states is still unknown. A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted to assess the impact of SBM on OD in India, evaluate the barriers to reducing OD, and provide recommendations for future interventions to reduce or eliminate OD in India. A total of 237 publications were screened, and 22 were selected for inclusion. While the Prime Minister declared India ODF in 2019, studies suggest that the government monitoring system overestimates numbers of ODF villages and toilet coverage. Reasons for households’ continued OD practice include financial constraints, lack of water supply, governmental mistrust, cultural beliefs, and personal preference. Community incentives and penalties have been used to encourage proper sanitation practices with varying success. Overarching strategies and approaches that have worked well across study districts to reduce OD include high involvement of district leadership and innovative behavior-change and local community mobilization campaigns