Participants of the WOBA project closing conference include representatives from Australian department of foreign affairs and trade (DFAT), leaders of Vietnam Women’s Union (WU), directors of water resource ministry, health environment management agency, national center for rural water supply and sanitation (NCERWASS), delegates from people’s committee, WU, provincial center for rural water supply and sanitation (PCERWASS), centers for disease control (CDC) at 05 provinces: Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Ben Tre, ministries, departments, local and international organizations that are implementing clean water and sanitation programs/projects such as: UNICEF, Save the Children, PLAN, PHAD, project representatives in Laos and Cambodia joins virtually, … leaders and staff of East Meets West Foundation (EMWF).

After more than 4 years of implementation, the conference is held to evaluate the achieved results, share experience and discuss solutions to maintain the project sustainability. The conference also commended and awarded organizations and individuals for their outstanding achievements in the project implementation. At the same time, EMWF and Vietnam WU express appreciation to the partners who have collaborated to bring the project to completion.

From 2018 to 2022, with the funding from DFAT through “Water for Women Fund” project, Vietnam WU have cooperated with EMWF and local partners at 05 provinces: Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Ben Tre to implement the WOBA project. The project objectives are improving community health, gender empowerment, social inclusion through output-based aids to support poor, near poor, GESI households in Vietnam rural areas access to hygienic latrines and clean water, enhance the women empowerment during project implementation. WOBA project has 2 components: Sanitation and Clean Water.

With the continuous efforts from the participant agencies, the project has achieved the following impressive results:

• 20,000 hygienic latrines constructed with hand washing facilities with soaps, including 15,000 poor/near poor; 3,000 GESI and 2,000 non poor households.
• 6,943 poor, near poor, GESI households connected to piped water.
• 3,056 handwashing devices distributed to kindergartens, health stations and GESI households; 200 plastic water tanks to households.
• 04 private water supply stations and 114 sanitation service providers participate in the project.
• 124,155 people participating and benefiting from the project, including 63,319 women and 6,417 people with disabilities. Accessible toilets for people with disabilities were designed and built in the project.
• 4,086 volunteers at villages/hamlets and officers from WU at commune, district, provincial levels and PCERWASS, CDC, PPC were trained in knowledge and skills on mobilizing, managing, and coordinating in clean water and sanitation with gender mainstreaming (including changing hygiene behaviors, menstrual hygiene management).
• 53 accessible latrines for people with disabilities and 5 accessible pathways for 5 health commune centers.
• 19 climate resilient water safety plans were completed and distributed to communities.

“Access to clean water and sanitation services, appropriate medical care, and good education for communities, especially in rural areas, including the disadvantaged are the basic elements of ordinary life, which are also the core values and mission of the WOBA project. EMWF is pleased to join hands with partners to successfully carry out this mission.”, shared by Mr. Nguyen Hiep, Chief representative and Deputy Country Director of EMWF.

“The Vietnam WU, together with five project provinces, has fulfilled its commitments to donors in recent years. In the upcoming time, the Vietnam WU and the project provinces will increase their efforts together with the political system to pursue and achieve the goal for all Vietnamese women and people in all regions to have access to clean water and hygienic latrines, contributing to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030: “achievement of access to suitable and equal sanitation for all, elimination of defecation exposed, paying special attention to the needs of women, girls and people in disadvantaged situations,” shared by Ms. Ton Ngoc Hanh, alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Vice President of the Vietnam Women’s Union.