To facilitate cross learning and sharing of best practices among States on IEC for ODF Plus, a webinar was held with State IEC Consultants on September 11, 2020. The webinar was attended by state level IEC Consultants and State Coordinators from almost all states and UTs where they discussed about their IEC initiatives, innovative mobilisation activities, resources being used and online real time tracking mobile Apps and the portal to take their villages beyond ODF.
The objective of the webinar was to promote IEC activities that will continue to take centre stage to make the entire rural India ODF (open defecation free) Plus, which means that all villages will be capable of sustaining their ODF status, ensure effective management of solid and liquid waste and are visually clean.
It is common knowledge that throughout the Phase I of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), effective implementation of IEC activities created a wave of demand for toilets, aimed at behaviour change of the masses to adopt safe sanitation practices and not just about constructing toilets.
For Phase II, right at the outset, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti had provided all States with 5 key IEC messages that could be disseminated in their respective languages at multiple levels. These paintings were used extensively during the Samudayik Shauchalaya Abhiyan and Gandagi Mukt Bharat campaigns, in addition to cleanliness, plantation and plastic collection drives, and promotion of hygiene and sanitation during COVID-19.
Further, States had come up with their own innovations and improvisations which they mentioned during the webinar.
Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 