Access to Improved Water Sources and Sanitation in Minority Ethnic People in Vietnam and Some Sociodemographic Associations: A 2019 National Survey

BACKGROUND: Achieving access to clean water and basic sanitation remains as major challenges in Vietnam, especially for vulnerable groups such as minority people, despite all the progress made by the Millennium Development Goal number 7.C. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to describe the access to improved water sources and sanitation of the ethnic minority people in Vietnam based on a national survey and to identify associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 with a sample size of 1385 ethnic minority households in 12 provinces in Vietnam. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was performed to examine the probability of having access to improved water sources and sanitation and sociodemographic status at a significance level of P < .05. RESULTS: The access to improved water sources and sanitation was unequal among the ethnic minority people in Vietnam, with the lowest access rate in the northern midland and mountainous and Central Highland areas and the highest access rate in the Mekong Delta region. Some sociodemographic variables that were likely to increase the ethnic minority people’s access to improved water sources and/or sanitation included older age, female household heads, household heads with high educational levels, religious households, and households in not poor status. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The study suggested more emphasis on religion for improving the ethnic minority’s access to improved water sources and sanitation. Besides, persons of poor and near-poor status and with low educational levels should be of focus in future water and sanitation intervention programs.