An assessment performed by SNV in Hoa Binh province in North Vietnam showed that only 32% of the households had access to a hygienic type of latrine, while 76% of the households could afford the construction of a new hygienic latrine. This data clearly showed that lagging growth in hygienic sanitation coverage is not caused by affordability but by a lack of willingness to pay for hygienic latrines. Besides lack of sanitation demand, sanitation supply faces multiple challenges, including lack of technology improvements for low cost options, lack of technical knowledge on latrine construction and a market which is perceived as non-profitable by the private sector.

The 'Rural Sanitation Demand Creation and Supply Chain Development' project addressed these challenges by developing an evidence-based behaviour change communication strategy to generate sanitation demand and a supply chain strengthening strategy and implementation plan to meet those demands. The project was funded by and implemented under the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), a multi-donor partnership administered by the World Bank to support poor people in obtaining affordable, safe and sustainable access to water and sanitation services.

The project started in two selected districts in Hoa Binh province, Kim Boi and Mai Chau, in 2013 and focused on three components:

• Behavioural change communication: First, this component focused on understanding the barriers and motivations of rural men and women to invest in hygienic sanitation. Based on the results from this assessment, SNV developed a province-wide participatory behaviour change communication strategy addressing these barriers and behavioural change drivers.

• Sanitation market strengthening: The component focused on defining the supply chain actors for both materials and services and assessed existing and potential business models for sanitation delivery. Based on these results, SNV developed a market strengthening strategy for Hoa Binh and two sanitation implementations plans for Kim Boi and Mai Chau districts to meet the demands created under component 1.

• Increasing knowledge and prioritisation of sanitation among government agencies: This component focused on policy development, engaging political leaders. Furthermore, for the implementation of the behaviour change communication and market strengthening strategy, SNV developed the necessary tools and materials, including mural paintings, television spots and news articles and study tours, and trained relevant stakeholders in its application.

While the initial support focused on 2 districts in Hoa Binh province, Kim Boi and Mai Chau, the strategies and implementation plans will be used for other districts in the province as well. Moreover, after one year of successful implementation of the project in Hoa Binh province the contract was extended for an additional 14 months to apply the approach in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.