Decision No. 104/2000/QĐ-TTg Approving the National Strategy on Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation until 2020

DECISION

OF THE PRIME MINISTER NO. 104/2000/QĐ-TTg OF AUGUST 25, 2000 ON APPROVING THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR RURAL CLEAN WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION UNTIL 2020

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;
Considering the proposal of the Joint Ministry of Construction - Agriculture and Rural Development at the report No. 34/TTr/XD-NN&PTNT dated October 27, 1999 and the letter No. 1253/XD-NN&PTNT dated July 10, 2000;
Considering the opinions of the Ministries of Health, Science, Technology and Environment, Planning and Investment, Finance, and the Vietnam Women's Union, the National Steering Committee for Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the National Strategy for Rural Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation until 2020 with the main contents as follows:

1. Objectives

a) Target by 2020: all rural residents will use clean water meeting national standards with a minimum quantity of 60 liters/person/day, use sanitary latrines, and maintain good personal hygiene, keeping village and commune environments clean.

b) Target by 2010: 85% of rural residents will use hygienic water with a quantity of 60 liters/person/day, 70% of households and rural residents will use sanitary latrines and maintain good personal hygiene.

c) Some key points to note:

- Focus efforts to ensure that by 2005, all kindergartens, schools, and other educational facilities, hospitals, health stations, government offices, and markets in rural areas have sufficient clean water and adequate sanitary latrines.

- Control household livestock breeding, centralized livestock breeding, and village craft production to maintain clean village and commune environments.

- Prevent depletion and pollution, protect the quality of underground water sources, and surface water in lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, etc.

2. Principles, guidelines, and scope of implementation

a) Guidelines:

- Leverage the internal strength of rural residents, based on their needs, through promoting socialization in investment, construction, and management, while enhancing the effectiveness of state management in clean water supply and rural sanitation services. Users play a decisive role in determining models of clean water supply and rural sanitation suitable for their financial capacity, organizational implementation, and management of facilities. The State plays a guiding and subsidizing role for policy-targeted families, the poor, ethnic minority regions, and other particularly difficult areas.

- Form a clean water market and rural sanitation service market according to state guidance.

b) Basic principle is sustainable development, appropriate to the natural, economic, and social conditions of each region, ensuring the long-term operation of the clean water supply and rural sanitation system.

c) The scope of implementing the Strategy includes all rural areas throughout the country.

3. Main solutions

a) Promote socialization in clean water supply and rural sanitation activities.

Socialization in the field of clean water supply and rural sanitation involves mobilizing and organizing, creating a legal basis to encourage the participation of the people, various economic sectors, and the whole society in the development of clean water supply and rural sanitation to improve living conditions and enhance the health of rural residents, specifically:

- Propaganda and education: aimed at raising awareness about the need for clean water and sanitary toilets, increasing understanding among the people about hygiene and the relationship between clean water - sanitation and health - social development.

Propaganda and education activities are carried out at all levels through the central and local radio, television, press networks, social organizations, schools, and grassroots propaganda networks.

- Organize community participation: aimed at mobilizing the entire population to participate in clean water supply and rural sanitation activities, diversifying investment models, creating favorable conditions for various economic sectors to enable households, groups, cooperatives, private enterprises... to help each other contribute capital, borrow preferential loans from the State; participate in operation, maintenance, management, and business of clean water supply and rural sanitation facilities and services.

- Enact policies to encourage socialization: government agencies within their jurisdiction should promptly issue related policies on licensing procedures, land, taxes, fees, credit, insurance to encourage organizations and individuals to participate in developing clean water supply and rural sanitation according to state guidance.

b) Increase funding, establish credit systems and subsidy systems to serve the development of clean water supply and rural sanitation.

Households allocate part of their income, and the State allocates appropriate budget under the form of subsidy capital and preferential credit capital to develop clean water supply and rural sanitation. Encourage various economic sectors to invest and attract foreign capital to develop clean water supply and rural sanitation in various forms.

Establish a credit system for people to borrow funds to build clean water supply and sanitation facilities with preferential interest rates, and a subsidy system to support policy-targeted families, the poor, and particularly difficult areas regarding water sources, and support the construction of centralized water supply systems.

From 2000 to 2020, efforts should be made to mobilize funding to achieve approximately 500 trillion VND to substantially complete the goal of clean water supply and rural sanitation in the country.

In each planning period, responsible agencies must determine specific budgets to mobilize and manage funding sources according to current laws.

c) Train human resources, apply science and technology to serve the cause of clean water supply and rural sanitation.

- Training and developing human resources:

Train cadres at the central and provincial levels on the National Strategy for Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation. Develop balanced and synchronized human resources at all levels and sectors, focusing on training staff at the district and commune levels. Diversify training methods, strengthen training capacity, and develop training centers in provinces.

- Applying science and technology:

Article 1 ||| Conduct thorough investigations to grasp water sources, reasonably distribute and use water economically. Pay special attention to managing and protecting water sources, and prepare plans for emergencies during natural disasters. Test and apply technologies to address water supply issues in difficult areas such as saline intrusion zones, islands, rocky mountainous regions, drought-prone areas, and flood-prone areas. Promptly resolve urgent issues such as hygiene in flooded areas; replace surface latrines with more civilized and hygienic models. Continue improving two-compartment toilets and flush toilet facilities to meet hygiene standards.

Select and improve traditional technologies while adopting international experiences and advanced technologies to industrialize and modernize rural clean water supply and sanitation. Encourage research and production of local materials and equipment serving rural water supply and sanitation needs. Research should cover information education, communication, human resource development, and management and investment models.

Promote recognized clean water supply and sanitation technologies to help users make choices (e.g., biogas, rainwater storage tanks in rocky mountainous and island areas). Promptly eliminate outdated or harmful technologies that cause health risks and environmental pollution.

d) Strengthen international cooperation.

Enhance international cooperation in the field of rural clean water supply and sanitation through various forms of multilateral, bilateral cooperation, and collaboration with non-governmental organizations in the following areas:

- Exchange of experiences on organizational management mechanisms and policies to develop rural clean water supply and sanitation.

- Human resource development.

- Transfer of clean water supply and sanitation technology.

- Financial support including non-repayable aid and preferential loans.

e) Enhance the effectiveness of state management in providing clean water and sanitation services in rural areas.

- Management documents system: Before 2005, complete, supplement, and draft new regulatory documents, regulations, standards, and guidelines to implement the Law on Water Resources, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on People's Health Protection, and other relevant laws; establish mechanisms and policies that meet people's needs and are suitable for the natural and social conditions of each region: mountainous areas, Red River Delta, coastal areas, and islands, Mekong Delta...; build a legal framework to protect the interests of clean water users and sanitation services under market mechanisms.

- Planning work: Based on the National Strategy, urgently complete the planning for clean water supply and sanitation in rural residential areas as soon as possible, paying full attention to the natural and social conditions of each region.

- Regarding organizational improvements: utilize, strengthen, and rearrange existing organizations for clean water supply and sanitation at all levels, especially at the grassroots level, villages, and hamlets. Centralize responsibilities to coordinate the tasks of clean water supply and rural environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; clearly define responsibilities and establish good coordination mechanisms between ministries, sectors, and social organizations; the Ministry of Health is responsible for completing and utilizing the primary healthcare system to ensure rural sanitation, issuing and promulgating hygiene standards for drinking and living water, sanitary latrines, and regulations on the reuse of human waste as fertilizer, organizing inspections and supervision of these standards.

The central government's responsibility is to formulate policies and mechanisms, development plans for clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas, and manage and inspect the implementation of approved policies and mechanisms according to the set goals for clean water supply and rural sanitation.

Responsibilities of local authorities: provincial people's committees are the highest responsible and authorized bodies for implementing the National Strategy on clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas in each province; establish appropriate organizational structures locally; plan annual rural water supply and sanitation programs; direct counties and provincial sectors to implement clean water supply and sanitation plans: ensure local funding and attract financial resources from sponsors for the development of clean water supply and sanitation within their jurisdiction.

Article 2. Implementation

1. Entrust the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and related ministries, sectors, and provincial people's committees to implement the National Strategy on clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas until 2020.

2. Based on this Strategy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development leads and coordinates with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to develop a five-year framework plan. In the short term, it is necessary to promptly summarize the state management work on clean water supply and rural environmental sanitation in recent years, thereby developing a plan for the National Target Program on clean water supply and rural environmental sanitation for the years 2000-2005, serving as the basis for annual planning, making this National Target Program a key tool to implement the National Strategy on clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas until 2020.

3. To submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval to effectively guide the implementation of this particularly important National Target Program, according to the Prime Minister's Decision on managing National Programs (No. 531/TTg dated August 8, 1996), the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development must promptly submit:

- Composition of the Steering Committee of the National Target Program on clean water supply and rural environmental sanitation, including representatives of relevant ministries and sectors participating.

- Operation rules of the Steering Committee.

Article 3. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, social and occupational organizations, and Chairpersons of provincial people's committees under central cities are responsible for implementing this Decision.