Women ‘change agents’ for climate-resilience in Vietnam

This woman is happy to be using her newly installed tap. In Vietnam, Thrive Networks / East Meets West has delivered 'Women-led Output Based Aid’ to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in five provinces. (Water for Women)

Women are the driving force behind a collaborative partnership that has been building community climate resilience across rural Vietnam. Supported by Australia through the Water for Women project Women Led Output Based Aid (WOBA), during the past five years Thrive Networks / East Meets West has been partnering with provincial Women’s Unions to improve access to inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for some of the poorest and most marginalised households in the five provinces of Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Ben Tre.

While replacing rudimentary, unsafe latrines with modern, hygienic facilities, partners have also been working to embed gender equality, social and disability inclusion (GEDSI) principles, and to strengthen national and sub-national WASH systems and the private sector's ability to serve the needs of all the whole community for the long-term. And the approach is proving successful.

“From now on, I will be happy to hear about my wife’s ideas. I found that her ideas contribute to positive changes in our family life” - a man from Ha Tinh province expresses his enthusiasm for continued decision-making with his wife after both agreeing to invest in a new hygienic latrine for their home, with support from WOBA.

Less than 10 years ago, although Vietnam had achieved strong water and sanitation coverage across the country, disparities remained between urban and rural communities and rich and poor households. Only 45% of the rural population had access to a piped water supply that met Ministry of Health water quality standards, and only 3% of the poorest quintile had a household connection. Only 72% of people in rural areas had access to basic sanitation, and for the hundreds of thousands of septic tank latrines that had been built in these areas, there were no systems in place to manage the safe disposal of faecal sludge (FSM). Marginalised households, including female-headed (single parent), elderly, low-income, and those with people with disabilities were among the most vulnerable and at risk of being left behind. 

But since project commencement in 2018, this situation has greatly improved.

More than 104,740 people living in the five project provinces now have improved access to WASH, including over 52,580 women and girls and 5,000 people with disabilities.

In addition:

• 18,000 marginalised and poor households have been supported to build hygienic latrines

• 6,943 new water connections for poor and marginalised households have been completed by 19 water schemes, including 4 private operators

• 3,056 handwashing devices have been distributed to kindergartens, health stations and marginalised households, and 200 plastic water tanks to households

• 2,000 non-poor households have been connected with 114 private suppliers by women’s union members to install hygienic latrines.

To help address the lack of safe FSM in the district, partners have also supported the Ben Tre city government to develop regulations, standard operating procedures and to select the most appropriate financial and management model for city-wide FSM.

Partnership with the women’s union has been central to mobilising the community’s uptake of the new FSM services. After participating in training, which included visits to treatment plants to strengthen their understanding of FSM and provision of communication materials for dissemination, Women’s Union members held 160 community awareness raising meetings, reaching some 3,236 people, including 2,413 women.

“I didn’t have difficulties in mobilizing households to empty the fecal sludge and use licensed services. Through group meetings, East Meets West Foundation cooperated with [the] Women’s Union to carry out many communication activities about fecal sludge management. Currently, the number of households register[ed] for emptying fecal sludge is not as many as the target, but we plan for them to increase substantially within 3-5 years.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong, Chairwomen of Ward 6 Women’s Union, Ben Tre city

The project also piloted Climate-Resilient Water Safety Planning, resulting in the production of 19 climate-resilient water safety plans, two of which have now been approved in Ben Tre Province. Internal training sessions for water scheme operators have supported their communication with community users.

“Customer service, good management and communications in [the] water supply sector are as important as the water quality itself. Thanks to the internal training organized by WOBA project, I am confident to communicate and share with our community about our climate-resilient water safety plan.”

A representative from Kenh Lap water scheme, Ben Tre city.

An inclusive community is an essential building block of climate resilience. Socially inclusive and cohesive communities are naturally more resilient, including to shocks from a changing climate, and they are more likely to have effective and sustainable water and WASH services and systems. Climate change will escalate risks and exacerbate impacts, particularly on vulnerable populations – inclusive water and WASH are critical connectors for community resilience and the ability to adapt and respond to increasing climate hazards.

The WOBA project was one of 20 Water for Women WASH projects to be delivered by civil society organisation partners in 15 countries in Asia and the Pacific from 2018-2022. Over the course of this first phase of the Fund, Water for Women supported more than 3.4 million people with improved access to inclusive WASH.

Some project highlights include:

• Work with the National Centre for Water Supply and Sanitation, part of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to create a guidebook to help underprivileged communities connect to safer water supplies and learn about climate-resilient water safety planning
• Support of COVID-19 awareness and prevention initiatives during the height of the pandemic in partnership with the Vietnamese Women’s Union
• Collaboration with the Vietnamese Women’s Union on the 150 million VND Innovation Fund in 2020 to expand or create science-based solutions to climate change and ensure inclusive WASH service delivery.