Vietnam’s Health Sector to Focus on Supervising Water Quality in 2019

Vietnam’s health sector will focus on supervising the water quality in both the urban and rural areas in 2019, targeting 86% of citizens have access to quality-accredited water sources, state media reported. Specifically, the sector is striving to supervise 100% of the water plants in urban areas and 70% of the water supply stations by the end of this year. Besides, 75% of households in rural areas are expected to have hygienic toilets, 100% of commune-level health centers will have clean water, and 80% of the population will regularly wash their hands with anti-bacterial soap. The sector also targets to provide periodic medical check-ups to 50% of laborers at high risk of being infected with occupational diseases, and force 70% of large companies and 30% of small- and medium-sized enterprises process environmental observation at workplaces. In 2018, the health sector gained some achievements in sanitation, such as (i) 99% of medical solid waste and 85% of wastewater was treated, (ii) 478 out of 543 hospitals (equal to 88%) had waste treatment systems. (TinTuc)