Denmark Supports Vietnam in Clean Water Supply

Danish Ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen said strict Danish environmental legislation has led to the development of a very efficient Danish water industry and a cleaner environment. Denmark has also applied many synchronous solutions like tapping groundwater, installing new water equipment, economising water consumption, and raising public awareness. Hence, in Denmark, domestic water consumption was reduced by 35 percent in the 1987 - 2009 period, and the water loss from Denmark’s network is only 6-7 percent, which is near a world record (compared with 40 - 60 percent in other nations). In order to achieve these results, Danish companies have developed a number of innovative services and products for the water sector and today are well-known for being climate friendly and energy efficient, with low operating costs and high levels of automation.

 

In recent years, Denmark has undertaken many cooperative activities to support Vietnam’s development, including targeted clean water and environmental sanitation programmes in the 1999-2005 and 2005-2010 periods. After 10 years implementing these programmes, Vietnam has made marked progress in accessing safe water sources in rural areas; and operating and maintaining constructed works. In rural areas, 83 percent of the population have access to hygienic household water. Particularly through the Target Program for Clean Water and Rural Environment Sanitation in 2005 - 2010, 51 percent of rural households now have hygienic latrines, thus bringing positive changes for the poor in rural areas. The programme also focused on providing access to clean water and environmental sanitation for public areas. To date, 75 percent of schools, 77 percent of clinics, 67 percent of grassroots administrative offices, and 45 percent of markets have access to clean water and environmental sanitation.

 

On the occasion of the Vietnamese - Danish Water Days 2011, held in late March 2011, a delegation of 11 Danish companies introduced the most modern water treatment technologies as well as effective waste prevention measures to Vietnam. Mr Benny Hagelskjaer, Head of the Danish Business Delegation, confirmed that Danish businesses are ready to cooperate with Vietnam in technological support and technical solutions to cope with the decline of water resources, initiatives to treat wastewater, and control urban water loss in order to support Vietnam’s economic development.

With support from donors for the programme, especially the Government of Denmark, Vietnam is preparing to launch the National Target Programme for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation in the third phase (2011 - 2015), focusing mainly on rural environmental sanitation and personal hygiene. Ms Lis Rosenholm, Deputy Ambassador of Denmark to Vietnam, said Denmark has supported the programme in the past years and will continue supporting Vietnam to carry out the third phase. During this phase, Denmark will focus on management, supervision, operation and maintenance activities to achieve the best results. The programme aims for following objectives: 95 percent of rural population use hygienic water and each person will be provided at least 60 litres a day on average.