Barbara Stocking was presented with the insignia “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” by Vu Xuan Hong, Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Associations, in Hanoi, on July 17.

Over the past ten years, Oxfam UK, the biggest humanitarian organization in Britain, has donated more than US$18 million in aid for a host of humanitarian programmes inside the country.

A strong focus has been put on providing better access to primary education for children from impoverished families, especially in mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited areas as well as gender equality initiatives.

More than 100,000 people in Vietnam benefit from Oxfam-financed programmes and projects each year.

Apart from providing relief for people in natural disaster-stricken provinces, the non-profit organization is implementing a number of development projects in the provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Tinh, Ninh Thuan, Tra Vinh and Dong Thap.