Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia.
Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Viet Nam National University, 19 Lê Thánh Tông, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
Water Res. 2019 Apr 15;153:239-250. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.01.026. Epub 2019 Jan 25.
The delivery of water services to the poor is lagging, yet local causes and manifestations of this are not well understood. Better data is needed to identify inequalities where they occur, explore underlying reasons, and develop strategies to achieve more equitable access. A focus on the local scale is important because this is where water services are delivered, and inequalities in access can be best observed. This paper presents a mixed-methods study of poor households' access to piped water in rural Viet Nam, providing insight into local dynamics of the water/poverty nexus. Findings pointed to lower rates of piped water access for poor households across areas served by government, private and community service providers. Connection fees were found to be the primary barrier to poor households accessing available piped services. The study also found that where financial support is provided, poor households can achieve comparable or even higher rates of access. Key implications of the study are the demonstrated value of, and yet challenges associated with, rigorous local-level monitoring to ensure equitable, quality service delivery.
向贫困人口提供供水服务的工作滞后，然而，人们对造成这种情况的本地原因和表现还不甚了解。需要更好的数据来确定不平等现象发生的地方，探讨背后的原因，并制定战略以实现更公平的获取途径。关注地方层面很重要，因为这是提供供水服务的地方，而且可以在这里最好地观察到获取方面的不平等现象。本文对越南农村贫困家庭获取管道水的情况进行了混合方法研究，深入了解了水贫困关系的地方动态。研究结果表明，在政府、私营和社区服务提供商服务的地区，贫困家庭获得管道水的比例都较低。调查发现，对贫困家庭来说，接水费用是阻碍他们使用现有管道服务的主要障碍。研究还发现，在提供财政支持的情况下，贫困家庭可以实现类似甚至更高的接入率。该研究的主要意义在于，需要进行严格的地方层面的监测，以确保公平、高质量的服务提供，同时也面临着挑战。
