The World Bank (WB) will continue prioritizing clean water and environmental sanitation programs in Vietnam’s rural areas in the next 10 years, a WB senior official said. WB Senior Urban Specialist Dean Cira made the statement at a conference on national strategy on rural fresh water supply and environmental sanitation until 2020, held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hanoi on March 23. The WB has supported the national strategy over the past decade and pledged to keep on the priority for Vietnam in the next decade, with the aim to help rural people gain access to clean water and sanitary facilities, Cira elaborated. During the period, the WB will focus on improving the quality of water as well as the water supply system, he added. Vu Van Thang, Deputy Head of the MARD's Irrigation Department, said the strategy has helped increase the rate of rural residents suing safe water to 83% in 2010 from below 30%, and that of households having sanitary latrines up to 56%.
The strategy by 2020 will focus on poor households and elements to promote sustainable development in line with socio-economic development strategy of the country, Thang added. The program is scheduled to provide tap water to 95% of rural population, including 70% using water that meets standards set by the Vietnamese Health Ministry, and 85% will have sanitary latrines. Vietnam is estimated to have more than 20,000 citizens died of diseases relevant to unhygienic and dirty water yearly, half of the death toll is blamed for diarrhea. (vietnamplus.vn Mar 23)
