Vietnam thanks int'l organisations for disaster relief
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on October 26 received representatives from UN agencies and international organisations that have supported flood victims in the central region.
Guests included Andrew Jeffries, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Vietnam; Rana Flowers, UNICEF and FAO Representative in Vietnam; and Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam.
According to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, international organisations, including UNDP, UNICEF, and ADB, have provided Vietnamese floods victims with nearly US$3 million.
At the meeting, representatives of the organisations pledged to accompany the Vietnamese Government in calling for international support for disaster response efforts.
Flowers said the agency has raised US$160,000 in emergency funding for clean water, personal hygiene, environmental hygiene, health care, nutrition, and education.
Noting the success of a programme to build 3,200 safe houses in flood-prone regions, Wiesen said the UNDP will continue working with the Green Climate Fund and the ADB to implement similar programmes worth US$30 million to help Vietnamese people cope with natural disasters.
Jeffries, meanwhile, said the ADB is considering a US$3 million support package after a quick survey of the damage and relief needs in central Vietnam.
For his part, Dung thanked the international organisations for their support, saing it has helped Vietnam deal with the major losses from the flooding.
He emphasised that the support also helps the country enhance its capacity to cope with natural disasters and quickly normalise the lives and livelihoods of those affected.
He noted that in addition to emergency relief, international organisations should cooperate with ministries, agencies, and local authorities to develop well-designed, long-term support programmes.
As rains and floods are forecast to persist, the Deputy PM affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will do its best to help people overcome the difficulties, while calling for continued assistance from international organisations so that local lives can quickly return to normal.
