Urgent sanitation efforts to prevent outbreaks

Flash floods and landslides not only caused severe human and material losses but also left lingering environmental and health challenges. Floodwaters often spread waste, animal carcasses, insects, and debris, contaminating water sources and raising the risk of outbreaks such as diarrhea, conjunctivitis, respiratory infections, tinea pedis, influenza, and dengue fever.

Health sector leaders have visited affected areas to direct emergency response efforts: identifying high-risk zones, handling waste and animal carcasses, spraying insecticides, and deploying mobile health teams to support local authorities in early detection and treatment of infectious diseases.

So far, the provincial health department has completed environmental disinfection with Cloramin B in 37 villages hit by floods: 7 in Xa Dung, 18 in Na Son, 7 in Mường Luân, 2 in Phình Giàng, and 3 in Tìa Dình. At evacuation centers and isolated areas, residents receive regular medical checkups to detect and contain potential outbreaks before they spread to the wider community.

Health experts have urged people to strictly follow hygiene practices to protect themselves: collect and dispose of waste properly, wash hands with soap or sanitizer before eating and after using the toilet, and seek medical care immediately if experiencing unusual symptoms. These basic measures are critical to stopping disease and protecting community health in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Clean water remains the top priority

For many families, the floods destroyed their only water reserves. Nông Thị Dung, a resident of group 5 in Na Son commune, lost her entire water tank to a landslide. Since then, her family has had to ask neighbors for drinking water and rely on untreated stream water for bathing and washing. “After the floods, we don’t have clean water for daily use. Even when we get some from neighbors, it’s not much, so we have to use it sparingly”, she said.

Recognizing that access to clean water is key to preventing post-disaster diseases such as diarrhea, dengue, intestinal infections, and skin conditions, the Department of water resources management and hydraulic works under the Ministry of agriculture and environment, together with UNICEF Vietnam, launched a relief program on August 11 for 210 households in Na Son, Xa Dung and Tìa Dình communes.

Each family received a 1,000-liter water tank, a 20-liter drinking water container, and essential supplies for women and children, including hand soap, water purification tablets, and hygiene booklets. UNICEF Vietnam also provided 165,000 Aquatabs purification tablets to the Điện Biên provincial Center for disease control to help residents secure safe drinking water and prevent outbreaks.

Ensuring clean water and sanitation is not just an urgent task in the immediate aftermath of floods but also a long-term mission to safeguard community health. In the coming weeks, the provincial health sector will continue coordinated efforts to stabilize residents’ lives and effectively control disease risks in flood-affected areas.