Vietnam

CLTS as an approach to generating sanitation demand was first tested in late 2008 in Vietnam by SNV – with financial support from the IPADE Foundation – with triggering exercises with two villages in the North West mountainous provinces. SNV was requested by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to pilot CLTS and this was conducted within the framework of the governments National Target Program (NTP II) for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation. The pilot aimed to demonstrate an innovative approach to accelerating increased sanitation access that was not dependent on the current subsidy approach.

The approach was then adapted to the context and piloted with 43 villages in the three North West Provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien. The pilot involved capacity building, technical assistance and support provided both by SNV and local capacity builders (LCB’s)-to the Provincial Departments of Health who in turn implemented and monitored the CLTS processes at commune and village level.

In 2009, SNV adapted the CLTS manual in Vietnamese specifically for the ethnic minority and mountainous context of these Provinces in collaboration with selected staff from North Vietnam College of Agricultural and Rural Development (NVCARD), referred to as Xuan Mai College. UNICEF also provided financial assistance to the Department of Health in Dien Bien Province to expand activities to 6 villages in Na Tau commune and 6 villages in Kontum Province with technical assistance from SNV and the now master trainers at Xuan Mai College.

In 2010/11, SNV Vietnam incorporated CLTS into a more comprehensive approach with support as part of the Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All Program which includes a focus on the supply chain development and behaviour change in 5 countries in Asia. As part of this program, CLTS activities have been undertaken in a further 149 villages in these 3 NW Provinces with support from AusAID, including District wide in Muong Anh District. UNICEF has also expanded activities to select villages in a further 10 districts in the Provinces of Dien Bien, Ninh Thuan, Kon Tum, An Giang and Dong Thap.

A strengths-based review of the SNV Pilot was undertaken in September 2010 to understand factors that generated success within the pilot, so that these could be replicated in the expanded program, and also to build shared understanding and enthusiasm with the government partners for the scale-up activities.

Currently an in-depth anthropological study is underway to document the gendered socio-cultural perspectives of the different ethnic minority groups in terms of sanitation and hygiene and how this relates to CLTS with the findings to be shared in 2011. Also in September 2010, Plan International coordinated a study field trip with interested NGOs and government partners to learn about the CLTS pilot approach along with other approaches in the country.