Malodor and sanitation behaviors in low-income settlements (India)

The need for better sanitation in the developing world is clear. 40% of the world’s population - 2.5 billion people - still practice unsafe sanitation or lack access to adequate sanitation facilities. Building upon the hypothesis that malodor makes toilets undesirable and might reduce toilet usage, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with Firmenich to develop a unique malodor counteractant technology. The technology aims to improve user experience and thus, contribute to Sustainable Development Goal #6.2 by encouraging people to adopt safer behaviors and move up the sanitation ladder, from open defecation to community toilets and eventually to individual toilets. In this context, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation asked Firmenich and Archipel&Co to run 10 case studies in low -income settlements across 4 countries to gain further insights on this topic. This research explores the specific role played by malodor among all the factors that influence sanitation decisions in low-income urban settlements. To what extent can the use of malodor counteractant technology encourage people to adopt safer sanitation practices and move up the sanitation ladder? This report presents key results from the 2 case studies in India.