Improving the quality of life through clean water and rural environmental sanitation credit

In recent years, the loan capital for clean water and rural environmental sanitation of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) Quang Tri branch has been assessed as one of the credit programs that has practical significance for the lives of people in rural areas, especially in remote areas. This capital source not only contributes to improving the quality of life for people but also helps many localities achieve new rural standards.

The clean water project of Mr. Ho Van Huu's family, Tang Co Hang village, Lia commune, was built with a loan from the Bank for Social Policies - Photo: ML

Living in an area once known as the “thirsty land”, people in the Lia communes of Huong Hoa district used to rely mainly on water from streams for their daily activities. In the summer, people had to walk kilometers to get water, and in the rainy season, the water was murky but they still had to use it, posing a risk of disease, seriously affecting their health and quality of life.

In recent years, this land has benefited from many programs and projects to invest in essential infrastructure works, including positive contributions from the clean water and environmental sanitation loan program of the Social Policy Bank, so the lives of the people here have had many positive changes.

In the memory of Mr. Ho Van Huu, Tang Co Hang village, Lia commune, Huong Hoa district, generations of his family had to walk more than 1 km every day to reach the stream to have water for bathing and washing and to collect water for family activities. Life was therefore very difficult. This situation only ended when in July 2022, Mr. Huu was able to borrow clean water, sanitation and rural environment at the Transaction Office of the Social Policy Bank of Huong Hoa district to build a pipeline to bring water from the stream to his house for use.

By early 2025, Mr. Huu had saved up to pay off the loan and was given a loan of VND50 million from the clean water and rural environmental sanitation program under new regulations. This capital was enough for him to hire workers to drill a well and build a closed sanitation facility for his family. “Now there is a clean water source leading to the house, and it is very convenient to build a sanitation facility like this. My family's life is improving every day,” said Mr. Huu.

Also in May 2025, Mr. Van Cong Tam, in Long Hung village, Hai Phu commune, received a loan of 50 million VND from the Hai Lang District Social Policy Bank for clean water and environmental sanitation program through the Commune Farmers' Association. From this source of capital, he invested in a water pipeline system, installed water tanks and built a closed sanitation facility.

Mr. Tam shared: Before, my family stored daily water in plastic buckets, which was very inconvenient because we could not store water, especially in the summer or when the company temporarily stopped supplying water for repair and maintenance of the project, the family lacked water for daily use.

“With the loan from the CSXH Bank, I was able to buy a 1,000-liter water tank and build a closed outbuilding in the house, which is very convenient. In particular, this loan has a suitable interest rate and does not put pressure on the family to repay the bank loan, so we feel very secure,” said Mr. Tam.

According to the Hai Lang District Social Policy Bank Transaction Office, in Hai Phu Commune alone, loans from the clean water and rural environmental sanitation program have helped more than 400 households build sanitation facilities and water supply systems for their families. With a total disbursed amount of VND 10.2 billion, this capital has helped the commune address one of the important criteria of the environment, contributing to achieving the advanced new rural standards by 2023.

Deputy Director of the Transaction Office of the Bank for Social Policies of Hai Lang District, Nguyen Duc Dung, said that in order to improve the efficiency of clean water and environmental sanitation loans, the office has closely coordinated with associations and organizations entrusted with propagating and disseminating preferential credit policies to the people. At the same time, loans are deployed to the right subjects and for the right purposes, ensuring that the works meet standards. Along with that, it is necessary to strengthen inspection and supervision of capital use, improve the quality of transaction activities and activities of savings and loan groups, ensure effective disbursement, debt collection, and interest collection.

On July 15, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 10/2024/QD-TTg on credit for clean water supply and rural environmental sanitation. Accordingly, from September 2, 2024, the loan amount will be increased to 25 million VND/project, instead of 10 million VND as before. People can borrow up to 50 million VND for 2 projects, with a maximum loan term of 60 months according to the agreement with the Social Policy Bank. The new policy creates conditions for people in the province to invest in upgrading clean water and sanitation projects, contributing to improving the quality of life.

In recent times, the transaction offices of the Social Policy Bank in the province have coordinated with the Party Committee, the government and socio -political organizations to promote propaganda and guide people to access loans. Thanks to simple procedures and preferential interest rates, many rural households have easily accessed capital sources.

Since September 2024, the Provincial Bank for Social Policies has promptly deployed and disbursed loans to the people according to the new loan level, thereby nearly 22,000 clean water and sanitation works have been newly built, upgraded, renovated and repaired with an amount of 517.6 billion VND. The cumulative loan turnover of the clean water and environmental sanitation program at the unit to date has reached 2,553 billion VND, helping households invest in the construction, repair and upgrade of over 261,000 clean water and sanitation works in the whole province. Currently, there are 33,879 households with outstanding loans for this loan program with an amount of 848.5 billion VND.

In 2025, the Quang Tri Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies will continue to closely follow the guidance documents of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to effectively implement Decision No. 10/2024/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister.

Continue to direct the district-level CSXH Bank transaction offices to urgently coordinate with the assigned socio-political organizations to review the subjects, provide guidance on loan applications, loan procedures and processes, repayment terms, and repayment levels to ensure simplicity, clarity, and ease of implementation for the people. Raising the loan level has helped people have enough resources to improve their living conditions, while contributing to the effective implementation of the national target program on new rural construction.

Mai Lam

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nang-cao-chat-luong-cuoc-song-nho-tin-dung-nuoc-sach-ve-sinh-moi-truong-nong-thon-194009.htm