Water supply and sanitation in Vietnam
Water supply and sanitation in Vietnam is characterized by challenges and achievements. Among the achievements is a substantial increase in access to water supply and sanitation between 1990 and 2010, nearly universal metering, and increased investment in wastewater treatment since 2007. Among the challenges are continued widespread water pollution, poor service quality, low access to improved sanitation in rural areas, poor sustainability of rural water systems, insufficient cost recovery for urban sanitation, and the declining availability of foreign grant and soft loan funding as the Vietnamese economy grows and donors shift to loan financing. This has caused many Vietnamese to not fully trust water sources that may not be safe or clean, or even avoiding tap water and only using water that has been filtered and boiled. In Vietnam, it is not recommended to drink tap water directly. The Vietnamese government encourages to at least boil water before consumption, with many familiar with water filters but rural places often not being able to own one or lack access to them due to poverty or distance from more urban areas. The government also promotes increased cost recovery through tariff revenues and has created autonomous water utilities at the provincial level, but