Vietnam raised the rate of rural residents using clean water to 83% by end-2010 against 75% in 2008, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. More than 84,000 clean water supply systems were put into service nationwide in 2010, including 1,500 concentrated fresh water supply works, the ministry added, revealing that around 150,000 hygienic latrines were built in the year. By 2015, the country aims to increase the rate of rural people using tap water to 95% and the threshold for rural households having hygienic latrines will be 75%. As many as 60% of rural families are expected to have hygienic breeding facilities and 60% of communes will have domestic waste collection systems by 2015, the ministry added. The Southeast Asian country is estimated to have more than 20,000 citizens died of diseases related to unhygienic and dirty water per year, half of the death toll is blamed for diarrhea. (Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Jan 5 p1)
