Two years of implementing the clean water and rural environmental sanitation program

(Baonghean) -After 2 years of implementation, the National Target Program on Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation (NTSP) phase 2 in Nghe An has achieved good results, contributing to improving people's living conditions and health, promoting socio-economic development in rural areas...

In 2009, Nghe An Health sector started implementing the sanitation component of the National Target Program for Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation. Thanks to the active participation, the program was implemented synchronously with the target that by the end of 2010: 63% of households will have hygienic toilets (an increase of 6% compared to before implementation); 100% of health stations will have water supply facilities and hygienic toilets (an increase of 7%) compared to before implementation.

To achieve the set goals, information - education - propaganda activities (abbreviated as IEC) have been integrated with many different methods and forms such as building propaganda reports on newspapers, radio, loudspeaker systems in rural communes; propaganda through publications (panels, leaflets, manuals for inspecting water supply and household sanitation works, handbooks for communication and education on health and environmental sanitation). In addition, direct communication is promoted by establishing a network of propagandists from commune to hamlet level. The integration and coordination of many IEC methods has brought great efficiency in mobilizing people to build hygienic toilets, improve personal hygiene and environmental sanitation in rural areas. In parallel with propaganda activities, the Steering Committee also pays great attention to training and capacity building for local cadres, especially propagandists and technicians at the commune, village and hamlet levels. In the past 2 years, 24 technical training courses on selection, use, and maintenance of hygienic household latrines have been organized; technical training on inspection and supervision of water supply and household sanitation works for 1,260 people; 19 training courses on communication skills on environmental sanitation, changing behavior regarding clean water, personal hygiene, and rural environmental sanitation for 1,022 people. Participants are specialized officers in charge of environmental sanitation in districts and communes, heads of health stations, health officers in charge of villages, hamlets, hamlets, heads of commune women's associations, environmental sanitation propagandists, etc.

In 2009, the Steering Committee deployed a pilot model of hygienic family toilets in two communes, Hung Nhan (Hung Nguyen) and Quynh Phuong (Quynh Luu). By 2010, it continued to deploy in three pilot communes, Nghi Thiet (Nghi Loc), Dien Van (Dien Chau) and Hung Tien (Nam Dan). Among the five communes selected to deploy the model of hygienic family toilets, three are coastal communes where people have the habit of not using toilets, while two are dyke-side communes that are frequently flooded, where people's lives are difficult and people are used to using makeshift, unhygienic toilets. Therefore, construction workers and families have been provided with information to build toilets suitable to local conditions. In coastal areas with high population density, no arable land, the main occupations are fishing and trading, people do not reuse manure for farming, so the suitable toilet model is a septic tank model. In the plains along the dike, mainly agricultural production, must use a lot of fertilizer for cultivation, so the construction of two-compartment ecological toilets was deployed here. The results after implementing the model, the rate of households with hygienic toilets in Quynh Phuong commune reached 47.3% (an increase of 11.2% compared to the set target); in Hung Nhan commune reached 69.5% (an increase of 14% compared to the target); in Dien Van commune reached 58.7% (an increase of 4.1%), in Nghi Thiet commune reached 40.8% (an increase of 0.8%), in Hung Tien commune reached 48.5% (an increase of 0.2% compared to the set target).

Regarding the construction of commune health stations, according to the 2009 review results, most of the sanitation facilities were only enough for health station staff to use, and there were no sanitation facilities specifically for patients. In 2010, the National Target Program for Rural Environment and Sanitation supported the construction of 21 new sanitation facilities at 21 health stations with a total support capital of 700 million VND. Currently, 468/478 health stations have hygienic water supply facilities (reaching 98%); 456/478 health stations have standard sanitation facilities (reaching 95%)... Thus, after more than 2 years of implementation, the rate of families with hygienic toilets reached 63.1% (exceeding the set target), but the rate of health stations with hygienic water supply facilities and toilets is lower than the target. Most commune health stations have sanitation facilities, but maintenance and sanitation have not been given due attention while funding for construction is limited, so many facilities have been degraded. In particular, the recent storm and flood in 2010 damaged 13 water supply facilities and 13 sanitation facilities of commune health stations...

Despite some difficulties, the project has contributed positively to changing awareness, behavior, improving environmental sanitation conditions, living conditions and health of rural people. The Steering Committee will continue to implement the program phase 3 (2011-2015) to contribute to building the image of a green, clean and civilized new countryside.

Gia Huy