Policy credit to motivate rural people to use clean water

(VBSP News) The National Target Program for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) was implemented by VBSP Nam Dinh Province under Decision No. 62/2004/QD-TTg dated 16/4/2004 of the Prime Minister. It contributes to environmental protection, helping the rural population to improve quality of life in conformity with the goal of building new rural areas.

With VND 12 million loan, Ms. Tran Thi Xuan in Uong village, Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district has invested in the construction of hygienic water works, contributing to improving quality of life.

Being a delta province, natural conditions in Nam Dinh are quite abundant, together with economic mechanisms and policies of the province it has strongly boosted industry, handicraft production and development of craft villages. Household economics on individual scale, farms scale ... are creating new strength for local economy. However, along with the development process, environmental pollution in some rural areas is also more serious. In some rivers which are the water source being exploited so far for production and living, now cannot be used, affecting quality of life of people, especially poor households, policy families and poor farmers. Facing the situation, Nam Dinh province has deployed many projects such as building biogas sheds, building clean water supply factories in communes and towns under the guideline "State and people work together". In implementing environmental and clean water for rural areas, investment in RWSS is a matter of concern to all levels, sectors and people.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet - Director of VBSP Nam Dinh province, said that after 14 years of implementation, over 178 thousand loans have been disbursed with the amount of nearly VND 1,573 billion; building over 174 thousand clean water works, 163 thousand sanitation works. So far, outstanding loans of the program reached over VND847 billion, accounting for 31.1% of total outstanding loans for policy credit programs, with over 74,000 active borrowers, accounting for over 10% of total households in the province. Up to now, people's awareness about the use of clean water to protect their health has changed markedly. In 12/2017, the family of Tran Thi Mai in My Hung Commune, My Loc District was given a loan of VND 12 million, combined with accumulated money of the family, she built a new water supply and sanitation work. Ms. Mai said that in the past, she and other households in the commune mainly used water from wells, but due to environmental pollution by waste water, domestic wastes and livestock waste, the quality of well water also being affected much. Over the past two months, everyone in the family has been using hygienic water, having cleaner environment ,thus, improved health. Not only the family of Mai, but according to statistics of the CPC, the percentage of households in the commune using clean water has reached 90% ...

As one of the leading localities in the efficient use of preferential credit to bring clean water to households, Hai Hau district has effectively implemented the loan program. At present, outstanding loans reached VND 118 billion with nearly 10,000 households. In the first three months of 2018, 2,474 customers were disbursed with VND 30 billion for 2,474 clean water projects and 2,474 new sanitation facilities. Sharing about effectiveness of the program, Nguyen Thi My in Le Loi hamlet, Hai Ly commune said: “Three years ago, my family still used well water in daily activities. Although the source of wells was increasingly polluted, I could not afford building a clean water work. In 2016, I took part in the SCG in Le Loi Hamlet and borrow a loan of VND 12 million from district VBSP”. Together with her savings, the family built a rational system of water supply and sanitation. As a result, living conditions have improved markedly.

It can be said that RWSS is an indispensable requirement in the daily life of each person, each family and an important factor in the protection of health and improvement of living conditions for the people. This is also an important criterion in the implementation of the national target program on new rural construction. As a result, the RWSS loan program of VBSP Nam Dinh always receives close attention of local authorities and the people.

Pham Van Dai