Publications

A rapid assessment of the strategic options available for wastewater, drainage and solid waste management for Khe Tre, a small town 50 km south west of Hue with a population of 3,400 in Thua Thien Hue (TTH) Province in Vietnam has been carried out. There is no centralized reticulated sewerage system, and the predominant sanitation system is septic tanks.

A rapid assessment of the strategic options available for wastewater, drainage and solid waste management for Phong Dien, a small town 25 km north of Hue with a population of 7,500 in Thua Thien Hue (TTH) Province in Vietnam has been carried out. There is no centralized reticulated sewerage system, and the predominant sanitation system is septic tanks.

A rapid assessment of the strategic options available for wastewater, drainage and solid waste management for Sia, a small town population 11,457, 20 km north of Hue in Thua Thien Hue (TTH) Province in Vietnam has been carried out. There is no centralized reticulated sewerage system, and the predominant sanitation system is septic tanks. Drainage and flooding is a problem in Sia in four low lying areas - representing a health risk.

A rapid assessment of the strategic options available for wastewater, drainage and solid waste management for Thuan An, a small Class V town population 20,567, 15 km from Hue in Thua Thien Hue (TTH) Province in Vietnam has been carried out. There is no centralized reticulated sewerage system, and the predominant sanitation system is septic tanks. Drainage and flooding is a problem in Thuan An with 10 days of flooding per year in the wet season.

Official coverage figures for rural water supply make us hopeful - MDG targets for water will likely be met. Yet, the disappointing reality is that only a fraction of this is functional and providing regular water supply that is safe for drinking. The premature deterioration of ‘improved’ water supply makes unreliable and unsafe water services a daily reality for large parts of the rural population in Asia.

SNV recognises that providing functional and sustainable water supply services is a challenge that goes far beyond coverage at a given point in time. Increased capacity at all levels is essential for sustainability.

Workshop report of the regional inception workshop 'learning by doing: capacity development approaches at the local level, which took place on 26-27 November 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand, and was organised by UNDP and SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation), with support from the UNDP Asia Regional Governance Programme (ARGP). The primary workshop objectives were 1) to share lessons learned on capacity development strategies and development efforts aimed at contributing to the MDGs at the sub-national/local level; and 2) identify critical knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to support sub-national/local capacities for reaching the MDGs.

This work on Rural Sanitation Supply Chains and Finance is part of the SNV/IRC Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All programme, which aims to improve the health and quality of life of rural people in five Asian countries (Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and Vietnam) through enhanced access to improved sanitation and hygiene practices. It has four integrated technical components, strengthening local capacities for a rural sanitation service delivery with a district-wide approach. An additional cross-cutting regional component of the programme focusses on analysis, dissemination, and learning.

This Brief shares some of the lessons learned from working on the Rural Sanitation Supply Chains and Finance. It also introduces the thinking behind its design and its main activities.

Access to sanitation is essential for human well-being, dignity and economic development. While demand creation innovations such as Community Led Total Sanitation are providing an unprecedented opportunity to start changing hygiene behaviour of rural people, evidence shows that behavioural change will not be sustained unless a number of key supporting conditions are met. One of these conditions is access to affordable and appropriate sanitation hardware and services. 

Market-based sanitation solutions have the most potential for scale and sustainability. However, rural sanitation markets are poorly developed and outreach is limited. Shops selling hardware and masons building toilets exist in any country, but the challenge is to reach many more customers across the socio-economic spectrum. 

Particular attention is required to address the needs and preferences of different consumer segments, most notably special needs groups, households living in poverty, ethnic minorities and low caste groups. Because rural sanitation supply chains and finance often need to be strengthened, work should start in this area before and then be conducted in parallel to demand creation activities. 

The purpose of this Small Town Sanitation Strategies in Thua Thien Hue Province report carried out by an SNV/ADB team is to make a rapid assessment of the strategic options available for wastewater, drainage and solid waste management for four Class V pilot towns in Thua Thien Hue (TTH) Province in Vietnam – Thuan An, Sia, Phong Dien and Khe Tre. 

In 2008 SNV Netherlands Development Organisation introduced Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) to Vietnam. We quickly learned that CLTS alone was not enough to achieve Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All. Together with local partners in Vietnam and across 17 districts within 5 countries in Asia, we have tested a more integrated approach, and the promising results of our work are presented in this paper.