MDRI receives EEPSEA grant for research on water and sanitation

Hanoi. Feb 5, 2015. The Mekong Development Research Institute (MDRI) has recently received an EEPSEA grant to conduct their research on the topic of sanitation and health.

EEPSEA, short for The Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia, is a regional organization whose goal is to strengthen local capacity in the economic analysis of environmental problems so that researchers can provide sound advice to policy makers. The organization endorses environmental economics research among its ten-member Asian countries, including Vietnam.

MDRI’s proposed research topic, titled “Do Hygienic Latrines Improve Health and Health Knowledge? – A randomized control trial study in Vietnam”, aims to analyze the impact of the Community Hygiene Output-Based Aid (CHOBA) project implemented by East Meets West over the past years on a number of indicators. These include sanitation uptake among the targeted communities, improved health knowledge of rural people and the improved health of rural households.

Findings from the research are hoped to deliver meaningful implications for other water and sanitation projects implemented in Vietnam in the coming period. The results also reflect the extent to which an Output-Based Aid program have on the targeted groups and provide evidence-based implications for the policy makers.