Context:

Xin Man is a mountainous district inhabited by 68,000 people in Ha Giang Province, in the far north of Vietnam. The district is among the poorest in the country, with a poverty rate of 51%. Residents' income depends mainly on agriculture. The lack of job security and susceptibility to external shocks make many families vulnerable to falling back into poverty. Ninety percent of residents belong to ethnic minorities and do not speak Vietnamese, which is learned only in school. Problems include isolation, poverty, malnutrition (19% of children under 5 are underweight and 29% are short), school dropouts, early marriages, and a lack of water infrastructure for agricultural and domestic use.
Access to drinking water and sanitation is poor. Villages lack safe water sources, which are often contaminated, and the population is forced to obtain water through makeshift means. Furthermore, only 13.5% of Ha Giang's rural population has access to a flush or a household toilet, while 40.6% use "other" types of facilities, such as latrines or makeshift structures (GSO, 2020). The lack of running water and toilets in many homes in the district often hinders the implementation of preventive measures against fecal-oral diseases, resulting in the development of physical problems and pathologies among the population.
Even the District's schools, most of which have dormitories, suffer from serious hygiene deficiencies, including a lack of functional and sufficient bathrooms, showers, and sinks, and a shortage of hygiene products (toilet paper, soap) provided to students. Furthermore, there are no training and awareness programs for teachers and students on the importance of hygiene in daily life. Finally, schools lack a waste management plan, with waste being burned in common areas, in front of students.

Actions:

The project aims to improve hygiene conditions in 10 schools in Xin Man District, in the far north of Vietnam.
It includes infrastructure improvements (new toilets, showers, sinks), new equipment (electric boilers), and hygiene materials for the benefit of the 3,086 students enrolled in these schools.
It will also include training on proper hygiene practices for teachers, numerous awareness-raising activities for students, and the development of guidelines to ensure teachers' commitment to maintaining good hygiene standards in schools in the years to come.

Expected Results:

R1: Ten schools in Xin Man district receive new toilets and showers, sinks, boilers, and hygiene materials as needed (total 3,086 students benefited).
R2: 150 teachers are trained in proper hygiene practices and committed to implementing them in their workplaces; each school has Good School Hygiene Guidelines.
R3: All 3,086 students from the 10 target schools participate in the training and awareness days and the final events organized (total 40 days in 10 schools).

Funding bodies: