Evaluation of communication activities for arsenic mitigation in water in Ha Tay and Ha Nam

Location: Ha Nam, Ha Tay province

Client Name / Capital: UNICEF

Start:  9/2009

End: 12/2009

Brief description of project:

The operation information, education and communication of arsenic mitigation be done in the framework of two projects : water supply project and rural environmental sanitation and personal hygiene and Sanitation project, the program of Water and Environmental Sanitation of UNICEF. In particular, a project working in partnership with the Department of Preventive Medicine - Ministry of Health and a project to work with the Center for Water and environmental sanitation in rural Vietnam. However, most of the communication activities arsenic mitigation are conducted by the Department of Preventive Medicine - Department of Health.

The objective of operations information, education and communication arsenic mitigation is to raise awareness for people about arsenic exposure in drinking water and the harmful effects of arsenic-contaminated water used for human health people. Instruction for household how treatment water to reduce arsenic level and use alternative sources of safe water for drinking when domestic water wells to arsenic contaminated badly.

Media content include: warning people to volunteer to test water; recommend finding alternative sources of drinking water if the water is used with high arsenic concentrations exceeding the allowable threshold. Red marks heavily contaminated wells and warning prohibiting the use of this water for drinking. Introducing techniques based filter and filter recommendations construction; instead recommends frequent washing sand and sand handling waste properly; advise people to check if clinical findings used for drinking water contamination from three years more

Consultant contractor scope of works:

Assess the level appropriate, cost - effectiveness, impact, efficiency, sustainability and replicability of operating information, education and communication on reducing the harmful effects of arsenic;

Determine what aspects need to improve the implementation of communication activities more effectively in the future;

Makes recommendations to improve the quality of communication activities

Take water samples and determine arsenic concentrations after treatment.