Water supply and sanitation in Vietnam
Water supply and sanitation in Vietnam is characterized by challenges and achievements. Among the achievements is a substantial increase in access to water supply and sanitation between 1990 and 2010, nearly universal metering, and increased investment in wastewater treatment since 2007. Among the challenges are continued widespread water pollution, poor service quality, low access to improved sanitation in rural areas, poor sustainability of rural water systems, insufficient cost recovery for urban sanitation, and the declining availability of foreign grant and soft loan funding as the Vietnamese economy grows and donors shift to loan financing. This has caused many Vietnamese to not fully trust water sources that may not be safe or clean, or even avoiding tap water and only using water that has been filtered and boiled. In Vietnam, it is not recommended to drink tap water directly. The Vietnamese government encourages to at least boil water before consumption, with many familiar with water filters but rural places often not being able to own one or lack access to them due to poverty or distance from more urban areas. The government also promotes increased cost recovery through tariff revenues and has created autonomous water utilities at the provincial level, but the policy has had mixed success as tariff levels remain low and some utilities have engaged in activities outside their mandate. Access In 2015, 98% of the total population in Vietnam had access to "improved" water, or 99% and 97%, for the urban and rural population, respectively. That means that around 2 million people lacked access to "improved" water. Regarding sanitation, 78% of the population in Vietnam had access to "improved" sanitation, or 94% of the urban population and 70% of the rural population. Still, approximately 21 million people in Vietnam, in 2015, lacked accessed to "improved" sanitation. According to the UN's Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, access to an improved water source increased from 58% in 1990 to 96% in 2010. However, most Vietnamese receive water from a tap in the yard or a public tap in the village from where they have to carry water to their home. In 2010, only 23% of Vietnamese had a tap in their home. There are substantial differences in access between urban and "rural" areas. 70% of the Vietnamese population lives in rural areas, but many so-called rural areas are actually small towns, e.g. in the densely settled Red River Delta. In urban areas, 59% had a tap in their home, while in rural areas this share was only 8%. In 2009 over 200 out of approximately 650 district towns did not have any piped water system. Access to improved sanitation increased from 37% in 1990 to 75% in 2011. There is a significant gap between urban areas, where access stands at 93%, and rural areas with an access of only 67%. In 2009, 75% of households in provincial towns were not connected to a sewer. Septic tanks are common, but with the exception of Hai Phong, no town