Research on the Sustainability of Rural Sanitation Marketing in Vietnam
Updated - Monday 07 November 2011
International Development Enterprises (IDE) conducted a pilot project in 30 rural communes in the coastal provinces of Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam in Vietnam. The project, which ran from 2003 to 2006, assessed the rural sanitation market and offered four low-cost toilet models. In addition, the project trained village heads, Women’s Union leaders, and community health workers to serve as promoters, and strengthened the capacity of local suppliers, including shopkeepers, producers, and masons. In turn, these leaders and providers promoted sanitary toilets and helped households to build the toilets they wanted and could afford. After 3.5 years, average household access to improved sanitation had grown from 16 to 46 percent.
When the IDE pilot concluded in 2006, the rural sanitation marketing approach seemed to be effective overall. However, many questions remained. Would sanitation marketing be sustainable long-term? And if so, how could the approach best be replicated and implemented elsewhere? Answers to these questions had potential application for sanitation projects worldwide.
Three years after the pilot project ended, WSP contracted with the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and ADCOM, a Vietnamese consultancy firm, to design and conduct a case study to address these questions. Research questions included whether the outputs and outcomes were sustained after the external support ended; whether the approach had spread to neighbouring communes; whether the districts had extended the approach district-wide; and whether there were signs of spontaneous marketing developments.
This Research Brief is based on the full report "Case Study on Sustainability of Rural Sanitation Marketing in Vietnam".
