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Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS)

Global (53+ countries), Global

CLTS is a participatory sanitation approach developed in Bangladesh in 2000 that has spread to 53+ countries. Instead of providing hardware subsidies, CLTS uses "triggering" techniques—including community mapping of open defecation sites, "walks of shame," and demonstrations of fecal-oral contamination—to evoke disgust and motivate collective action. Communities identify their own solutions using local materials to achieve "Open Defecation Free" (ODF) status.

Behavior Goal

Complete elimination of open defecation through community-wide behavior change, construction of household latrines, and establishment of social norms against open defecation

Implementers & Partners

  • Plan International
  • WaterAid
  • UNICEF
  • World Bank WSP
  • CARE
  • SNV
  • National Governments

Donors & Sponsors

  • DFID
  • World Bank
  • UNICEF
  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Key Takeaways

  • 1Community-wide "triggering" using disgust and shame is more effective than individual subsidies
  • 2Natural leaders emerge from communities to drive and sustain change
  • 3Low-cost solutions using local materials enable rapid scale-up
  • 4Post-ODF verification and follow-up are critical to prevent slippage

Sources

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