In 2021, the local health sector carried out this programme in 23 communes of six district-level localities, namely Van Yen, Luc Yen, Van Chan, Yen Binh, Tran Yen, and Nghia Lo. The programme comprises two sections – improving rural sanitation, and promoting capacity, communications, monitoring, and assessment.

Under this programme, a number of behaviour change communication activities have been implemented from the provincial to grassroots levels. Forty-eight communes have been assisted to draw and update 65 rural sanitation maps, helping them obtain sustainable sanitation.

Households in the beneficiary localities have been helped to build 1,860 hygienic toilets while all the 13 communes covered by the programme’s first section have achieved sustainable commune-wide sanitation. In the second section, 12 water supply and sanitation facilities at 12 health stations have been upgraded and repaired.

Doctor Pham Van Thanh, Deputy Director of the Centre for Disease Control of Yen Bai province, said with a new and breakthrough approach, the programme focuses on enhancing the sustainability of grassroots infrastructure and increasing the coordination between sanitation investment and promotion to meet commune-wide sanitation standards.

From 2016 to 2021, the health sector mobilised resources for building and upgrading 34,157 toilets in rural areas across Yen Bai (13.9% higher than the target). Besides, 58 health stations had new water supply facilities built and 50 communes met commune-wide sanitation standards, reaching the respective targets.

For 2022, the programme looks to help five communes of Van Yen district to achieve sustainable commune-wide sanitation, and mobilise resources for building and upgrading 2,313 toilets in 150 rural communes. In particular, it plans to provide financial support for the construction of 1,436 hygienic toilets for poor, near-poor, and disadvantaged households.

The programme has helped improve the awareness and capacity of all-level cadres, especially those at the grassroots level, in terms of primary health care for local residents. The use of hygienic toilets, the adoption of hygienic practices, and environmental cleanup will help protect public health, eradicate backward customs, and raise people’s awareness of environmental protection for sustainable development.