Applied, interdisciplinary research across sanitation, water, public health, gender and social development.
In 2024, 3.4 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation. Only 56% of domestic wastewater was safely treated. Across low- and middle-income countries, the majority of urban areas are not connected to sewer networks — meaning that household toilets, community facilities, schools and public conveniences must contain, treat and manage waste on site or through decentralised systems.
Non-sewered sanitation is not a temporary solution waiting to be replaced by sewers. For most of the world's urban population, it is the permanent infrastructure of daily life. The question is not whether non-sewered systems will be used — it is whether they will be designed, operated and maintained well enough to deliver safely managed sanitation.
SDG 6 does not ask whether a toilet was built. It asks whether excreta is safely contained, transported, treated and disposed of or reused — whether water is recovered and used — whether women, girls and marginalised communities can access services safely and with dignity.
Swachh Bharat transformed sanitation access in India. The next challenge is making that access safe, inclusive, functional and sustained.
DBPRF works in that transition — generating field-based evidence across nine implementation gaps that emerge after toilets are constructed.
The Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Research Foundation undertakes applied, interdisciplinary research across sanitation, water, public health, gender and social development. Our research is grounded in the experiences of communities, sanitation workers, public institutions and service providers. We combine technical evidence with social, behavioural, economic and policy research to develop solutions that can work at scale.
Theme 1 — Flagship Research Programme
This is DBPRF's flagship research programme. We study sanitation systems that safely contain, treat and manage human waste without depending on conventional sewer networks.
Our research examines the complete sanitation service chain — from containment and treatment to maintenance, residual management, reuse and safe disposal.
Theme 2
We investigate how sanitation systems can reduce freshwater consumption and recover useful resources from waste.
This research connects sanitation with water security, climate resilience, energy efficiency and the circular economy.
Theme 3
Sulabh's experience in managing public and community sanitation provides DBPRF with a distinctive foundation for research in this area.
Our aim is to understand how shared sanitation facilities can remain clean, safe, affordable, inclusive and functional throughout their lifecycle.
Theme 4
Sanitation is not only an infrastructure issue. It is closely connected with gender equality, health, education, dignity, social norms and access to public spaces. DBPRF conducts research on the social and gender dimensions of sanitation and water, with menstrual health and hygiene as a major area of focus.
Theme 5
Infrastructure succeeds only when it can be operated, maintained, financed and accepted by its users. We study the human, institutional and economic factors that determine whether sanitation services remain functional.
Theme 6
DBPRF generates evidence to support the movement of ideas and technologies from research to adoption.
We examine how sanitation and water systems respond to water scarcity, flooding, extreme heat, power interruptions and other climate risks.
We place women, children, persons with disabilities, sanitation workers and underserved communities at the centre of research and programme design.
We explore sensors, remote monitoring, data platforms, artificial intelligence and other digital tools that can improve performance, transparency and decision-making.
We examine the relationship between sanitation, water, hygiene, disease prevention, nutrition and community wellbeing.
We promote research partnerships, practitioner exchanges, technology adaptation and shared learning between institutions in Asia, Africa and other regions of the Global South.