Decision No. 366/QD-TTg on approving the National Target Program for Rural Clean Water and Environmental Sanitation for the period 2012-2015

Clause 4 of Article 6Approves the National Target Program on Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation for the period 2012-2015 (hereinafter referred to as the Program), including the following main contents:

1. Name and Managing Authority of the Program

a) Name of the Program: The National Target Program on Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation for the period 2012-2015.

b) Managing Authority of the Program: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Guiding Principles and Approach to Implementing the Program

a) Guiding Principles:

- Promoting socialization efforts, developing a market for clean water and rural environmental sanitation services that are suitable with the country's economic and social development situation.

- Leveraging the internal resources of the whole society to implement the Program, based on the characteristics of each region, locality, and the needs of users to select appropriate scale, technology, and service level according to financial capacity and post-investment management, operation, and utilization of works. Taking advantage and using effectively the capital from sponsors, ensuring community participation.

- Prioritizing support for poor areas and people; special difficult regions, those frequently suffering from drought, pollution, mountainous areas, coastal areas, and islands.

b) Guiding Principles:

- Implementing the Program in conjunction with economic and social development plans, the National Strategy on Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation until 2020, contributing to the implementation of the National Target Program on New Rural Development until 2020; clean water supply and rural environmental sanitation works when repaired, upgraded, or newly constructed must ensure sustainable operation and effectiveness under climate change conditions; ensuring safe water supply.

- Developing appropriate technologies for different regions; while developing advanced technologies, it is necessary to pay attention to developing household-scale water supply technologies for difficult regions.

- Strengthening hygiene goals, promoting household-level sanitation investment, particularly promoting low-cost sanitation models through credit to increase access for the poor.

- Enhancing information, education, and communication activities, shifting from awareness-raising communication to behavior-changing communication.

3. Objectives and Main Tasks of the Program

a) General Objective:

Gradually realizing the National Strategy on Clean Water Supply and Rural Sanitation until 2020, improving the conditions for providing clean water and sanitation, enhancing hygiene awareness, changing hygiene behaviors, and reducing environmental pollution, contributing to improving the health and quality of life for rural residents.

b) Specific Objectives:

By the end of 2015, achieving the following main objectives:

- In terms of water supply: 85% of rural population have access to hygienic drinking water, of which 45% use water meeting the standard QCVN 02-BYT with a minimum volume of 60 liters/person/day; 100% of kindergartens and primary schools, and health stations in rural areas have sufficient clean water.

- In terms of environmental sanitation: 65% of rural households have hygienic toilets; 45% of farmers engaged in livestock raising have hygienic animal sheds; 100% of kindergartens and primary schools, and health stations in rural areas have sufficient hygienic toilets.

4. Target Groups and Scope of Implementation of the Program

All rural residents throughout the country, prioritizing support for poor households, remote and isolated areas, ethnic minority regions, border areas, islands, and areas with difficult water sources and pollution issues.

5. Implementation Time

The Program shall be implemented from 2012 to the end of 2015.

6. Total capital, capital structure, and support mechanism for implementing the Program, and the list of projects under the Program

a) Total capital: 27.6 trillion VND

b) Capital structure:

- Central budget: 4.1 trillion VND, accounting for 14.9%

- Local budget: 3.1 trillion VND, accounting for 11.2%

- International aid: 8.2 trillion VND, accounting for 29.7%

- Preferential credit: 9.1 trillion VND, accounting for 33.0%

- Capital of people and private sector: 3.1 trillion VND, accounting for 11.2%

c) Projects under the Program:

- Project 1: Domestic water supply and rural environment

+ Objective: 85% of rural population will have access to hygienic domestic water, of which 45% will use water meeting the standard QCVN 02-BYT with a minimum of 60 liters/person/day; 100% kindergartens and primary schools (main school sites) will have clean water and hygienic toilets, properly managed and utilized; 45% of rural households engaged in livestock farming will have hygienic animal shelters.

+ Implementation cost: 19.725 trillion VND.

+ Component sub-projects:

Sub-project 1: Domestic water supply, including: Construction of domestic water supply facilities for rural areas, border guard posts combined with border communities and prisons, prioritizing areas with particularly difficult water sources: high mountains, saline intrusion areas, regions contaminated with arsenic, dioxin, and other hazardous pollutants.

Sub-project 2: Construction of clean water facilities and hygienic toilets for kindergartens and primary schools.

Sub-project 3: Construction of hygienic animal shelters.

+ Responsibility for implementation:

Main agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Management and implementation agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directs the implementation of sub-projects 1 and 3; Ministry of Education and Training directs the implementation of sub-project 2; People's Committees at provincial and municipal levels organize the implementation of projects within their jurisdictions.

Coordinating agencies: Ministries of Health, Construction, Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Technology, Defense, Public Security; Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam Farmers' Union, Vietnam Women's Union, Central Youth Union Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth.

- Project 2: Rural Sanitation

+ Objective: 65% of rural households will have hygienic toilets; 100% commune health stations will have clean water and hygienic toilets, properly managed and utilized.

+ Implementation cost: 5.961 trillion VND.

+ Component sub-projects:

Sub-project 1: Construction of hygienic household toilets.

Sub-project 2: Construction of clean water facilities and hygienic toilets for commune health stations.

+ Responsibility for implementation:

Main agency: Ministry of Health.

Management and implementation agency: Ministry of Health directs the implementation; People's Committees at provincial and municipal levels organize the implementation of projects within their jurisdictions.

Coordinating agencies: Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Technology, Education and Training; Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam Farmers' Union, Vietnam Women's Union, Central Youth Union Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth.

- Project 3: Enhancing capacity, communication, and monitoring and evaluation of the Program's implementation.

+ Activities: Training and capacity building for the system of relevant sectors; information, education, and communication to raise awareness and change behavior among all levels, sectors, and communities; monitoring and evaluating the Program's implementation; quality control of water; reviewing and updating planning; developing and transferring technology; operation and maintenance of facilities.

+ Implementation cost: 1.914 trillion VND.

+ Responsibility for implementation:

Main agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Management and implementation agency: Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, and Education and Training organize the direction of implementation according to assigned sub-projects; People's Committees at provincial and municipal levels organize the implementation of projects within their jurisdictions.

Coordinating agencies: Ministries of Information and Communications, Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Technology; Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam Farmers' Union, Vietnam Women's Union, Central Youth Union Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth.

d) Capital mobilization mechanism:

- Diversifying capital sources:

+ Integrating various capital sources from national target programs; supporting programs and projects with specific objectives on the local level, including:

Direct funding for the National Target Program on Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation in Rural Areas for the period 2012-2015.

Capital integration from other ongoing programs and projects that support clean water supply and environmental sanitation in rural areas.

Mobilizing maximum local resources (provincial, district, and commune levels) to implement the Program; Provincial People's Committees allocate a minimum of 10% of the total capital for the Program's implementation from the local budget.

Mobilizing investment capital from enterprises and individuals for projects capable of directly recovering capital; enterprises can borrow development investment credit from the state; implementing Decision No. 71/2010/QD-TTg dated November 9, 2010, of the Prime Minister on the pilot regulations for public-private partnership investment.

Contributions from the people as stipulated for each specific project.

International aid funds.

Efficiently utilizing credit capital: Credit capital according to Decision No. 62/2004/QD-TTg dated April 16, 2004, of the Prime Minister; commercial credit capital according to Decree No. 41/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 12, 2010, of the Government on credit policies serving agriculture and rural areas.

Mobilizing other lawful financial resources.

- Support mechanism:

The support mechanism for implementation ensures sufficient capital for investment deployment and operational costs to ensure sustainable operation of facilities. The level of support and balance of each capital source must be appropriate to the region, type of facility, and target group to ensure that poor and remote areas can access and utilize water supply and sanitation facilities. Specifically:

+ For development investment capital:

For centralized water supply facilities:

Central budget funds: Provide maximum support of up to 90% for particularly difficult communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, coastal areas, and islands, border communes as prescribed by the Prime Minister; 60% for plain area communes and 75% for other rural communes.

Local budget funds and mobilization from other lawful sources (preferential credit, private investment, contributions from the people): Ensure the remaining funding to implement the program. For localities capable of balancing their budgets, regions with potential for socialization need to maximize community and private sector participation.

For small-scale water supply projects: The state budget supports up to a maximum of 70% for poor households and policy families, and 35% for near-poor households; other households can use preferential credit funds as prescribed.

For school and health station water supply and sanitation projects: The state budget provides maximum support of up to 90%. For units without revenue sources, the provincial People's Committee shall consider and decide on the level of investment from the state budget.

Regarding capital for public services:

For activities such as capacity building training, information-education-communication, inspection, supervision and evaluation of implementation status, water quality control, planning, technology transfer application, network support... the state budget provides full support.

For activities constructing sanitary latrines and livestock sheds (including Biogas) models to be replicated: The state budget supports up to 70% for poor households and policy families, and 35% for near-poor households; other households can use preferential credit funds.

On specific criteria for capital allocation:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead in developing and approving mechanisms and criteria for capital allocation for each component and specific project after soliciting opinions from relevant ministries: Finance, Planning and Investment, Health.

Management mechanism for investment:

Project investors responsible for construction projects are directly managing and operating the facilities. In cases where the direct management unit lacks capability, the provincial People's Committee shall consider and decide to entrust another capable entity to act as the investor.

During the investment preparation process, opinions and participation of the local community regarding the investment project or economic-technical report, commitment to water usage and payment must be sought.

Contractor selection: The selection of contractors for construction shall be carried out according to current regulations, encouraging communities benefiting directly from the project to undertake simple technical tasks if they have sufficient capability.

Community oversight board consisting of representatives from the People's Council, the Vietnam Fatherland Front at commune level, social organizations, and community representatives elected by the people shall supervise the projects according to current community investment supervision regulations.

7. Main solutions to implement the Program

a) Special mechanisms and policies to be issued

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead, coordinating with related ministries and sectors to review, amend, and supplement financial management, technical regulations, incentive policies for investment in rural clean water supply construction, management of clean water supply facilities, technical standards, guidance on management, operation, and protection of facilities to facilitate the implementation of the Program; reviewing and establishing cooperation mechanisms between ministries, sectors, and localities to effectively implement the Program in accordance with its objectives.

b) Information-Education-Communication:

Information, education, and communication activities through main forms:

Direct communication at village level to train propaganda teams and villagers.

Newspapers, radio, television are emphasized at national and local levels.

Social marketing to promote demand for building and using hygienic toilets, practicing hygiene behaviors; using clean water for daily life and building hygienic toilets.

Enhancing the responsibility of authorities, agencies, and mass organizations at all levels in organizing the implementation of the Program.

c) Expanding international cooperation:

Strengthening international cooperation to exchange experiences, share information, transfer technology, and mobilize non-refundable aid and preferential credit funds.

Establishing a clear and flexible coordination mechanism between government agencies and donors to create a transparent, favorable, and effective environment for implementing the Program; promoting Vietnam's partnership activities with donors in the field of rural clean water supply and environmental sanitation.

Efficiently utilizing donor funds and ensuring compliance with committed agreements.

d) Post-investment management:

Emphasizing post-investment effectiveness, particularly focusing on the management model and mechanism for centralized water supply facilities and public works; significantly changing operational methods from service provision to service delivery based on customer needs.

After completion, facilities must establish operation procedures, including clear provisions on maintenance, repair, and replacement schedules and contents.

Managers must be trained, professionally qualified, and capable of managing operations according to regulations.

Clean water production costs must accurately include all reasonable factors in production, distribution, taxes, and profits, submitted to the provincial People's Committee for approval in accordance with current regulations. If consumption prices are lower than production costs, the decision-making body responsible for setting consumption prices must subsidize the difference from the local budget to the water supply unit.

đ) Human resources, science, and technology:

Regarding human resources:

Emphasizing training and development of human resources, particularly focusing on enhancing the capabilities of state management officials at all levels, public institutions, services, and especially grassroots cooperators.

The training content is suitable for each target group, disseminating and promptly guiding on legal regulations, developing planning and plans, scientific and technological research, investment construction and project management, communication work, operation and management of facilities...

Training methods include workshops, field trips to learn from experiences, seminars... Positive teaching methods centered on students are utilized.

- On science and technology:

+ For water supply: Focus on finding appropriate and effective technical solutions, especially for particularly difficult areas (areas frequently affected by droughts, floods, pollution, high mountains, islands...). Diversify types of technologies for water extraction and utilization, improve water quality according to natural conditions, economic and social circumstances of each area, ensuring sustainability. Prioritize utilizing stable water sources for particularly difficult areas; centralized water supply for densely populated areas; upgrade and expand existing water supply facilities to ensure water quality.

+ For sanitation: Based on natural conditions and local customs, decide on building appropriate toilet structures.

+ For livestock waste treatment technology: Focus mainly on treating household livestock waste using traditional technology; prioritize applying Biogas technology for livestock waste treatment.

e) Community participation

Enhance community participation, ensuring equal opportunities for people to benefit and actively participate in program activities. Program implementation must be linked with grassroots democracy regulations, encouraging village meetings to determine local priorities and make decisions related to rural clean water and environmental sanitation.

8. Implementation organization

a) Central level:

- The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issues a decision to establish the Steering Committee for the National Target Program on Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation in Rural Areas for the period 2012-2015; members of the Steering Committee include: the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development as Chairman, the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development as Deputy Chairman in charge, the Vice Minister of Health as Deputy Chairman, and members of the Steering Committee are representatives from the Ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Construction, Education and Training, Defense, Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Technology, Information and Communications, the State Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs, the Vietnam Farmers' Union, the Vietnam Women's Union, and the Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

- The operational rules of the Steering Committee are decided by the Chairman.

- The Steering Committee has a permanent office located at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Depending on the nature of each component project within the Program, the agency responsible for implementing the component project may establish a Project Management Board, which is decided by the head of the agency implementing the component project.

b) Local level

The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province decides to establish the Steering Board for the National Target Program on Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation in Rural Areas for the period 2012-2015 to implement the Program in their jurisdiction. The Chairman of the Steering Board is a leader of the provincial People's Committee, the Deputy Chairman in charge is a leader of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Deputy Chairman is a leader of the Department of Health. Members of the Steering Board are representatives from relevant provincial agencies and organizations.

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and EnvironmentThis Decision takes effect from the date of issuance.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of central government agencies, and heads of other central agencies, Chairmen of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees are responsible for organizing the implementation and guiding subordinate agencies and units to enforce this Decision./.