Mark Deasey discovers that water is a rare commodity in Vietnam. Water shortage is not something we usually associate with South-East Asia. Lush tropical landscapes and iridescent green paddy fields tend to come to mind instead.
Water is the key to it all.
Although Vietnam has an excellent record in public health compared to other countries with similar income levels, infant mortality in remote and minority communities is still a grave problem. Lack of clean drinking water is a key contributing factor. A group of village women prepare to break ground for a new irrigation channel. Through Community Aid Abroad's local partner, Oxfam Hong Kong, Water Aid is using a variety of ways to help provide both clean drinking water and small-scale irrigation schemes to suit the landscape and the needs of individual communities. Nghe An' has been a byword for poverty and devastation.