Vietnam sets up toilet association to promote hygienic practice

Binh Duong (VNA) – The decision to establish the Vietnam Toilet Association was announced at a ceremony held in the southern province of Binh Duong on November 8.

Under the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Decision No 2067, the 135-member association has been established to gather individuals and organisations to  voluntarily join hands in promoting the building of standard toilet facilities in the country, thus protecting people’s health.

Before the decision, a board campaigning for the official establishment of the association, in collaboration with the Binh Duong People’ Committee and businesses, had organised urgent runs between 2015 and 2017. The annual event calls for public attention to building public toilets that meet hygiene and safety standards.

Main activities of the newly established association revolve around organising communications campaigns on the construction of standard public toilets, conducting relevant surveys, and planning options for the upgrade and construction of public toilet.

The organisation’s first congress for the first tenure spanning between 2018 and 2023 elected a 15-members executive committee, headed by Le Van Hiep, general director of Binh Duong-based Kim Hoang Hiep environment services company.

Public toilets are seriously lacking in Vietnam. In Hanoi alone, just above 370 public toilets are currently operating to serve the capital’s 7.7 million residents and a large number of domestic and foreign visitors.

For the existing public toilets, maintenance and hygiene is an issue, hindering access to the scarce service.-VNA