THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the National Strategy on Rural Clean Water Supply and Hygiene till the year 2020 with the following principal contents:

a/ Objectives set to be achieved by the year 2020: All rural people shall have access to national-standard clean water with the minimum volume of 60 liters/person/day, use hygienic latrines and well practice personal hygiene and protect environmental hygiene in villages and communes.

b/ Objectives set to be achieved by the year 2010: 85% of rural population shall have access to national-standard clean water with a volume of 60 liters/person/day, and 70% of rural households and population shall use hygienic latrines and well practice personal hygiene.

c/ A number of issues that must be paid attention to:

- Concentrating efforts to achieve the objective that by the year 2005 at the latest all creches, schools and other educational establishments, hospitals, clinics, offices and markets in rural areas shall be sufficiently supplied with clean water and furnished with adequate hygienic latrines.

- Controlling the family-based livestock keeping, concentrated husbandry as well as production activities of craft villages, so as to ensure the environmental hygiene in villages and communes.

- Preventing the dry-up, combating pollution and protecting the quality of underground water sources and surface water in lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, etc.

2. Implementation guidelines, principles and scope:

a/ Guidelines:

- To bring into play the rural population�s internal resources and to take into account their demands, on the basis of intensifying the socialization of investment, construction and management, and at the same time to enhance the effectiveness of the State management over the rural clean water supply and hygiene services. The users shall play the decisive role in formulating the clean water and rural hygiene model suitable to the financing, implementing and project managing capabilities. The State shall guide and provide assistance to households being policy beneficiaries, the poor, regions inhabited by ethnic minority people and some other regions meeting with great difficulties.

- To form a rural clean water and hygiene service market according to the State�s orientation.

b/ Basic principles are sustainable development and suitability to the natural and socio-economic conditions of each region, thus ensuring the long-term operation of the rural clean water supply and hygiene system.

c/ The Strategy�s implementation scope covers all rural areas throughout the country.

a/ Stepping up the socialization of rural clean water supply and hygiene activities

Socializing the domain of rural clean water supply and hygiene means to mobilize and organize, as well as to create legal grounds for encouraging the participation of the population, all economic sectors and the entire society in the development of rural clean water supply and hygiene, in order to improve the living conditions and health of the rural population, more concretely:

- Propagation and education: are aimed to raise the demand for clean water and hygienic latrines, raise the people�s knowledge about hygiene and relationship between the water supply - hygiene and health and social development.

Propagation and education activities shall be carried out at all levels through the network of television and radio broadcasting and press agencies at the central and local levels, mass organizations, schools and network of propagandists at the grassroots.

- Organization of the community�s participation: is aimed to mobilize the entire population to participate in the rural clean water supply and hygiene activities, diversify investment models, create favorable conditions for such economic sectors as family households, business groups, cooperatives, people-run enterprises... to support one another in capital contribution or borrow the State�s credit capital; and participate in the operation, maintenance and management of and dealing in rural clean water supply and hygiene projects and services.

- Promulgation of policies promoting the socialization: the Government�s agencies shall, within the scope of their powers, have to promulgate as soon as possible policies regarding the licensing procedures, land, taxation, fees and charges, credit and insurance, in order to encourage organizations and individuals to participate in developing the rural clean water supply and hygiene according to the State�s orientation.

b/ Creation of more capital sources, establishment of a credit system and an assistance system in service of the rural clean water supply and hygiene development

Family households shall save part of their incomes, while the State shall set aside an adequate budget proportion in form of assistance capital and concessionary credit loans, for the rural clean water supply and hygiene development. All economic sectors are encouraged to invest in and attract foreign capital for the rural clean water supply and hygiene development in different forms.

To form a credit system to provide loans to people for building of clean water supply and hygienic projects at preferential interest rates, and an assistance system aimed to provide assistance to policy beneficiaries� families, poor people and regions meeting with great difficulties in finding water sources, as well as to support the building of concentrated water supply systems.

From 2000 to 2020, to strive to mobilize various capital sources so as to acquire some VND 50,000 billion for substantial achievement of the rural clean water supply and hygiene targets in our country.

For each planning period, the responsible agencies shall have to determine specific funding to be mobilized and manage capital sources according to the current legislation.

c/ Training of the human resources and application of sciences and technologies in service of the cause of rural water supply and hygiene.

- Training and development of human resources:

To foster officials at the central and provincial levels in the national strategy on rural clean water supply and hygiene. To develop human resources in a balance and synchronous manner in all levels and branches, with importance being attached to the training of execution personnel at district and commune levels. To diversify the training forms, raise the training capability and develop the provinces� training centers.

- Application of sciences and technologies:

To survey and firmly grasp all water sources, to distribute and use water in a rational and economical manner. To attach special importance to the management and protection of water sources and draw up contingency plans against natural calamities. To test and apply technologies to the supply of water to areas meeting with numerous difficulties, such as: salt-infiltrated areas, islands, rock mountains, drought- or flood-prone areas. To solve as soon as possible such imperative issues as: hygiene in flooded areas, replacement of latrines installed over water surface with more civilized and hygienic ones. To continue improving double-septic tanks and flushing toilets to make them up to the hygienic standards.

To combine the selection and improvement of the traditional technologies with the study of international experiences from the application of advanced technologies, with a view to industrializing and modernizing the rural clean water supply and hygiene. To promote the research into and manufacture of supplies and equipment at home and on the spot in service of the rural water supply and hygiene. The researches shall cover the domains of information, education, communication, human resources development as well as management and investment models.

To popularize various clean water supply and hygienic technologies which have been recognized through reality, in order to help users make their options (for example: biogas, rain water tanks built in rock mountain regions, islands...). To get rid of as soon as possible technologies, which are obsolete or harmful to health and cause environmental pollution.

d/ Stepping up international cooperation

To step up the international cooperation in the field of rural clean water supply and hygiene in various forms of multilateral cooperation, bilateral cooperation and cooperation with non-governmental organizations in the following aspects:

- Exchange of experiences in management organization, mechanism and policies in order to develop the rural clean water supply and hygiene.

- Development of human resources.

- Transfer of rural clean water supply and hygiene technologies.

- Provision of capital supports including non-refundable aid capital and concessionary credit loan capital.

e/ Enhancement of effectiveness of the State management over the rural clean water supply and hygiene

- On the system of management-related documents: Before the year 2005, it is necessary to improve, supplement and elaborate new legal documents, statutes, regulations, standards as well as implementation guidance to the Law on Water Resources, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Protection of People�s Health and other legal documents; to formulate mechanisms and policies which can meet the people�s demands and suit the natural and social conditions of each of the following regions: mountainous regions, Red River delta region, coastal regions and islands, Mekong River delta region...; to develop a system of legal documents to protect interests of clean water and hygienic service users in the market mechanism.

- On the planning work: On the basis of the national strategy, to expeditiously complete the planning for clean water supply and hygiene in rural residential areas, taking into full account the natural and social conditions of each region.

- On the organizational improvement: To make the best use of, strengthen and rationally rearrange the existing organizations engaged in rural clean water supply and hygiene at all levels, especially at grassroots units, villages and hamlets. To concentrate responsibilities of the existing agencies in charge of rural clean water supply and rural hygiene to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development so that the latter can assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate tasks of rural clean water supply and hygiene; to make coherent responsibility assignments to and devise an effective mechanism of coordination between the ministries, branches and social organizations. The Ministry of Health shall have to improve and make the best use of grassroots healthcare apparatus in performing the task of ensuring rural hygiene, elaborate and promulgate hygienic standards of daily life water and latrines, set out regulations on the reuse of human manure as fertilizer, organize inspection and supervision of the observance of the above-said standards.

The central authorities� responsibilities are to formulate policies and mechanisms, and work out plans for development of rural clean water supply and hygiene, and at the same time manage, inspect and examine the realization of the policies and mechanisms as well as plans already approved according to the set rural clean water supply and hygiene targets.

Regarding the responsibilities of the local administrations at all levels: The provincial People�s Committees shall have the highest responsibilities and powers for the implementation of the strategy on rural clean water supply and hygiene in each province; set up appropriate organizational apparatus in localities; work out planning for rural water supply as well as annual plans therefor; direct districts and branches of their respective provinces in realizing the rural clean water supply and hygiene plans; ensure local funding and attract capital sources from donors for development of rural clean water supply and hygiene in their respective localities.

Article 2.- Organization of implementation

1. To assign the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the concerned ministries and branches and the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities in implementing the national strategy for rural clean water supply and hygiene till the year 2020.

2. Basing itself on this strategy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries, branches and localities in working out the framework plan once every five years. In the immediate future, to expeditiously review the State management over the rural clean water and environmental hygiene in the recent past, then proceed to work out plans involved in the national target program for rural clean water and environmental hygiene for the 2000-2005 period, which shall serve as basis for elaboration of annual plans, with a view to making this national target program the main tool for realizing the national strategy for rural clean water supply and hygiene till the year 2020.

3. Under the Prime Minister�s Decision No.531/TTg of August 8, 1996 on the management of national programs, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall have to promptly submit the following to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval, for coordination in effective direction of implementation of this national target program of special importance:

- The composition of the Management Board of the national target program for rural clean water and environmental hygiene, which includes competent representatives of the concerned ministries and branches.

- The operation regulation of the program�s Management Board.

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the socio-professional organizations and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
NGUYEN CONG TAN