Nepal is inching towards its national goal of being Open Defecation Free (ODF) by 2017. Village by village, district by district, Nepal aims to be completely open defecation free. 

UMN through its programmes has been playing a significant role in raising awareness in this issue, supporting ODF campaigns and providing materials in the communities that it works in. 

Nabin Raj Moktan, UMN’s Cluster Coordinator says, “Women’s groups and child clubs have been powerful agents of change in the communities. Children are promoting sanitation and hygiene in their child clubs with their peers, mothers are actively learning and discussing this issue in their groups and are practicing these learnings in their family and are influencing the community. UMN is proud to support the district offices in every way we can through our WASH programmes.” 

From the seven districts that we work in, Rukum, Bajhang and Mugu have been declared as ODF. The other districts – Rupandehi, Sunsari, Doti and Dhading are well on its way.