The GSF programme is finally on the ground in the eight Terai districts (from Parsa to Saptari), which are considered by many to be the most challenging districts to promote sanitation in Nepal and the main bottleneck for achieving the government’s target of achieving 100% sanitation coverage in the country by 2017. According to the 2011 census, over 5.4 million people live in these districts but only 27% of the total households in these districts have toilets and only 13% have improved toilets. These districts face numerous challenges such as high incidence of poverty, poor governance, cultural practices that accept open defecation as the norm and heavy subsidies for toilets across the open border.

In spite of these challenges, just in a few months, we have learnt that change is possible and the Terai is ready for change. We are convinced that we can take on this challenge with active leadership from local bodies, support from other partners and participation of the local people. As always, our mantra for success continues to be “Local Government Leadership; Stakeholders’ Partnership; and Community Ownership” Looking forward to a successful Terai Sanitation Campaign.