This report details the results from a study of factors affecting the sustainability of open defecation free (ODF) status in rural villages following Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) triggering.
It investigated results in CLTS programs operated by Plan International in four countries in Africa—Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. Data was collected in 4960 households in 116 villages where CLTS had been triggered and communities declared ODF two or more years before the study commenced.
Analysis of the findings sought to answer three questions:
- What percentage of households had remained ODF?
- What were the primary causes of households reverting to open defecation (OD)?
- What motivated people to remain ODF?
The study was initiated and sponsored by Plan International. It was conducted by FH Designs, an Australian-based consulting firm, with field work carried out in 2012.
