Contributing to changing people's lives.

(Baonghean) - Through the implementation of the National Target Program on clean water and rural sanitation, people in localities have directly benefited from centralized water supply systems, or have received preferential loans from banks to build new, renovate, and upgrade water facilities and toilets to meet standards... With these practical activities, the quality of life of people in many rural areas has been gradually improved.

Dien Yen commune clean water plant (Dien Chau).

In recent times, due to water pollution, people in Dien Yen commune (Dien Chau district) have struggled to find clean water for daily use. High-income families buy water from private water delivery trucks or invest in building 3-10 cubic meter tanks to collect rainwater. Poor households, however, bring plastic containers to other communes to beg for water. Faced with this situation, Dien Yen commune once planned to invest in a clean water plant, but the multi-billion dong investment required was difficult to raise from local resources, so the project could not be implemented.

Mr. Duong Dang Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: Faced with the difficulties in securing investment capital for the construction of the water treatment plant, the commune was selected as a pilot site for the "Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation Project in Central Vietnam" funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (implemented in 6 provinces: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, and Binh Dinh). Through this project, the locality received investment for the construction of a large-capacity, modern water treatment plant; the project also invested in household and school toilets, etc. The "Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation Project in Central Vietnam" in Dien Yen received an investment of over 53.873 million VND with a capacity of 1,700 m3/day, meeting the clean water needs of 3,580 households with 13,170 people. Along with the construction of the clean water supply plant, Dien Yen also received investment in a comprehensive pipeline system, and public sanitation facilities were built for schools and health stations in the commune…

One of the areas of investment that brings practical benefits to providing water to the people is the integration of programs and projects to invest in this sector. A typical example is the operation of the Water Supply & Sanitation Revolving Credit Fund managed by the Women's Union of Dien Yen commune. Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien - President of the Women's Union of the commune said: "To make good use of the project's support capital, the Women's Union of the commune has conducted extensive propaganda to inform the people and members in the commune, thereby organizing a review, compiling a list of members who meet the eligibility criteria for loans and organizing training, communication, and distribution of the Revolving Fund implementation handbook..."

Following the guidelines of the Provincial Project Management Board, the Social Policy Bank, the Women's Union, and the Revolving Credit Fund, the project was implemented effectively. Starting in July 2014, impoverished members received loans (4 million VND per household) to invest in the construction of water supply and sanitation facilities. As a result, 640 households received loans totaling 2,560 million VND to build new, renovate, and upgrade 640 water supply and sanitation facilities, including 220 new constructions and 420 renovations and upgrades. Through the practical activities of the "Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation Project in Central Vietnam" funded by a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the people of Dien Yen have gained access to clean water and invested in the construction of standard sanitation facilities, thus making a significant contribution to meeting the criteria for building new rural areas.

The clean water supply project in Hung Lam commune (Hung Nguyen district) was funded by the revolving fund. Photo: PV

Investing in water supply and sanitation development is one of the priority areas for credit institutions, and the Social Policy Bank is a pioneer in supporting and investing in this field. Currently, through four organizations – the Women's Union, the Veterans Association, the Farmers Association, and the Youth Union – the Social Policy Bank has entrusted the disbursement of preferential interest rate loans to households. By establishing credit groups at the grassroots level to directly inspect and supervise the implementation of the funds, the program has proven effective. Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh, Deputy Director of the Social Policy Bank of the province, said: “The loan program for investment in water supply and sanitation has attracted many households to participate. Any family that does not have clean water facilities or toilets, or has them but they do not meet the required standards, is given priority for loans.”

The expansion of eligible borrowers has facilitated implementation. In reality, the demand for capital to build sanitation and clean water facilities to improve the quality of life for people in the province is very high. Therefore, the implementation of this program has always received strong support from the Party committee, government, and people, especially during the new rural development phase. 100% of the capital is entrusted by the Social Policy Bank to four coordinating organizations, thus mobilizing combined strength. The capital is disbursed quickly, and the use of funds is regularly and strictly monitored, ensuring that the capital is used for its intended purpose. Combined with appropriate loan terms, the rate of borrowers repaying on time is very high. In the future, the banking sector will continue to create favorable conditions in terms of mechanisms, policies, and capital for the program's operation.”

Thanks to creating a highly effective investment "channel," the Social Policy Bank has promptly invested capital in helping people build and renovate rural water supply and sanitation facilities. Currently, the total loan disbursement has reached VND 661.8 billion, with 96,105 customers receiving loans, and debt collection reaching VND 305.6 billion. From the credit capital of the program, households in rural areas have been able to build 166,000 clean water and sanitation facilities (including 95,000 clean water facilities and 71,000 sanitation facilities).

However, difficulties still exist during implementation. Because the loan amount for each project ranges from 4 to 6 million VND, poor households face significant challenges in investing in the construction and renovation of these facilities. Relevant levels and sectors need to increase the maximum loan amount to facilitate the improvement of the quality of clean water and sanitation projects.

Hoang Vinh