Progress in “other” Vietnam war

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32802, 30 December 1971, Page 13

Progress in “other” Vietnam war

(N.Z.P.A. Stag Carr«(pon«nt>

QUINHON (South Vietanam), December 29. Happiness in Phu An is a lavatory a concrete base, with steps for the feet, Asianstyle, a hole in the ground, and a handy bucket of water for flushing.

Three months ago, Phu An’s 250 houses had only two such lavatories. Today it has 101, and that means progress in the Other war South Vietnam is fighting—the war to raise living standards. Phu An is a tiny, poor hamlet of 1302 people who live in homes strung along route 19 linking Qiu Nhon with the central highlands. It has had few claims to fame. But today it proudly boars the title "sanitary hamlet,” one of only two in the Binh Dinh province of one million people. "We are-very happy." said the hamlet chief, as he related that every house now had a garbage hole dug in its garden, a well with a wooden cover, and a jar to keep boiled water for drinking. National campaign The “sanitary hamlet” programme is a national cam-

paign launched this year by the Saigon Government to improve living conditions and health standards in the countryside. Phu An achieved its sanitary transformation under the watchful eye of Mr M. B. Marks, a health inspector from Dunedin, who is attached to the New Zealand surgical team at Qui Nbon Hospital as a provincial public health adviser. Phu An is the second hamlet in Binh Dinh to complete the pilot programme, under which each village is given nearly $350 to raise Its health standards. "It is difficult to ensure that the lavatories and garbage holes are used after they have been established,” said Mr Marks. "But it is a start, and a health worker is appointed in each hamlet to maintain interest and standards.”