A conceptual model of peopleʹs approach to sanitation

Sanitation is a term primarily used to characterize the safe and sound handling (and disposal) of human excreta — or simply, peopleʹs approach to take-care of their (unavoidable) primal urge. According to the recent Human Development Report 2006 Global access to proper sanitation stands at approximately 58% with 37% being a conservative estimate both for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Various multi-million dollar sanitation programmes the world over have had little success, often due to inadequate understanding of peopleʹs sanitation approach. Sanitation approach includes the perception, feel and practices involved in satisficing the primal need to defecate and urinate (and their disposal). This paper presents a structure to understand the nature of psycho-socio-economic influences that determine societal approach to sanitation.Societies across the globe have evolved imbibing diverse influences attributed to the local environment, religion, cultural practices, war, etc. While a civilizationʹs living environment reflects these influences in their built-environment characteristics, the influences are often deep-rooted and can be traced to the way the community members satisfice their need to defecate and urinate (sanitation approach).