Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

Participatory poverty monitoring in rural communities in Viet Nam
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loans from the Social Policy Bank) under the National Target Programme on Rural Safe
Water and Sanitation, linked with the Programme on building new rural areas 21 .
Many residents do not understand the importance of sanitation. As a result improving
environmental sanitation in rural areas is an urgent issue, involves behaviour change
and requires the participation of commune health stations and the primary healthcare
network. The support programme for the construction of latrines should be revised to
focus on empowering residents and training village masons to build latrines which meet
standards at low cost. It should also increase funding for communication and training
and specifically target women and children, the key beneficiaries.
TABLE 2.6. Shortages in living conditions, 2007-2011
Commune
Non-use of
electricity (%)
Use of unsafe
water (%)
No latrines
or temporary
latrines (%)
2007 2011 2007 2011 2007 2011
Thuan Hoa 15 10 46 40 100 92
Ban Lien 43 2 54 39 98 98
Thanh Xuong 0 0 89 65 72 70
Luong Minh 41 29 5 27 100 100
Duc Huong 0 0 71 53 53 53
Xy 7 2 26 28 100 96
Cu Hue 6 0 96 89 76 69
Phuoc Dai 11 2 51 22 87 89
Phuoc Thanh 20 6 85 63 100 94
Thuan Hoa 5 0 3 0 82 62
Average 15 5 52 42 87 83
SOURCE: Household interviews
The percentage of households using unsafe water for drinking and cooking remains
relatively high. At some monitoring points, a high proportion of surveyed households
use water from ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, canals and mountain creeks for drinking
and cooking (Table 2.6). There have been substantial investments in centralized tap
water facilities. However, mountainous topography, adverse weather conditions and
poor maintenance and management mean many people still do not have access to safe
water. In many mountainous ethnic communities, the quality of water is poor, due to
the fact that people living upstream pollute the water supply with solid waste and cattle
dung. The policy promoting the “Participatory Irrigation Management” (PIM) model has
so far been ineffective at the monitoring points.
Many households now have access to electricity at most monitoring points. More
households are now connected to the national grid and no longer rely on small hydroelectric
generators as in the past, especially in Ban Lien-Lao Cai. Many residents have
bought TV sets, pumping machines, and tea drying and crushing machines. Access to
electricity and lighting has also facilitated children’s study, village meetings and other
21 Under Decision 800/QĐ-TTg dated June 4, 2010 approving the National Target Programme on building
new rural areas 2010 - 2020, the goal “supply enough safe water to residents, schools, health stations, offices
and public service areas” is numbered 17 in the national new rural criteria.