EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION SOURCES IN TAKING THE ‘SWACH BHARATH MISSION’ TO TRIBALS IN INDIA: AN AWARENESS CHECK ON ZERO SANITATION AMONG ‘JENU KURUBA WOMEN

Abstract [English]

Open Defecation Practice(ODP) poses a serious threat to public health. In India, efforts are being made to spread awareness among the public regarding the importance of hygienic and safe sanitation. According to the World Health Organization reports-2022 a major portion of the world’s OD population belongs to India. In its efforts to face the challenges, and to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG), India initiated the ‘Swacch Bharath Mission’(SBM) in 2014, a program to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF). In its decade-long behavioural change movement, India has tasted success. Encouraged by the success the Government relaunched SBM-Grameen ( SBMG) as Phase II program (2019-2014). As we reach the last leg of Phase II, it is important to check the effectiveness of the information sources in taking the message to the target group. The present study conducted among women belonging to ‘Jenu Kuruba’ community one among the two Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTG) who have been relocated from the forests of the Western Jenu Kuruba community, details us that ‘war is not over’.It is observed that women do not have access to any form of mass media, and largely depend on sustainable, repetitive effective interpersonal communication in bringing in the desired changes.