The ‘Water is Life’ project will not only help women protect their livelihoods, health and improve access to clean water, but also contribute to building sustainable and resilient communities that can adapt well to climate change and natural disasters. (Source: UN Women)

The “Water is Life” project is funded by the Japanese government and implemented by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in coordination with the Women's Unions of Ca Mau and Ninh Thuan provinces in 2024-2025.

Through the donation of water storage, water filtration and water-saving irrigation equipment and communication programs, the Project aims to enhance access to livelihood opportunities, sustainable clean water, and prevention and response to gender-based violence for beneficiary women in the two provinces.

Speaking at the event, UN Women Representative in Vietnam Caroline Nyamayemombe said: “Women take on the primary responsibility for collecting water and caring for their families, making them the first and most severely affected by water shortages.”

According to Ms. Caroline Nyamayemombe, the “Water is Life” project not only helps to alleviate this burden by ensuring essential water sources but also strengthens the community’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.

UN Women Representative in Vietnam Caroline Nyamayemombe speaks at the event. (Source: UN Women)

The "Water is Life" project will not only help women protect their livelihoods, health and improve access to clean water, but also contribute to building a sustainable and resilient community that can adapt well to climate change and natural disasters. In addition to women and households, the project also donates water filtration equipment and water tanks to schools and health stations to improve hygiene conditions for children and people in the community. With priority support from the Japanese government, an estimated 7,200 people, especially vulnerable women, will benefit from the project.

“We hope that this project will improve access to clean water for women and children, contribute to the recovery of agriculture and other sectors in the province, and ensure livelihoods for vulnerable women,” said Mr. Ito Naoki, Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam.

On November 5, more than 420 women in Ca Mau province were presented with domestic water tanks, helping them reduce the time spent collecting water, reduce the burden of caring for and protecting their families’ health. In addition, 200 women who want to improve their agricultural irrigation systems will receive financial support to purchase water-saving irrigation equipment.

Ca Mau and Ninh Thuan provinces are currently facing a high risk of drought and severe saltwater intrusion. Prolonged droughts cause serious losses to agricultural production and affect the lives and health of people, especially women and girls, who are primarily responsible for finding and managing water sources for their families.

In addition, when water sources are contaminated with salt, water quality declines, adversely affecting public health, increasing the risk of infectious diseases such as dengue fever, diarrhea and skin diseases. This is especially dangerous for women and children, especially ethnic minority groups.

In Ca Mau, in 2020, saltwater intrusion damaged more than 29,644 hectares of cultivated land, significantly reducing rice and vegetable production, causing an estimated loss of VND107 billion. The shortage of domestic water here is increasingly severe, with more than 20,000 households having to buy water at high prices, affecting their ability to spend on other necessities.

In Ninh Thuan - the province with the least rainfall in the country, severe drought has also led to the abandonment of more than 7,873 hectares of agricultural land in 2019-2020. The scarcity of fresh water has put 72,000 people at risk of hunger, and more than 12,000 households with nearly 50,000 people without water for daily use. With surface and groundwater depleted, about 110,000 livestock have been malnourished or died due to lack of water and food.

Ceremony to donate water storage, water filtration and water-saving irrigation equipment to women in Ca Mau and Ninh Thuan. (Source: UN Women)