(13th Congress) – According to Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, in the coming time, apart from urgent assistance for satisfying people’s essential needs, international agencies and organizations should work with Vietnamese ministries and localities to carry out long-term programs and projects to help people resume production and stabilize their lives.
Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung receives representatives from UN agencies and international organizations. (Photo: CPV)
He made the statement on October 26 when he received representatives from UN agencies and international organizations 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, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
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 3 million USD.
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 160,000 USD 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 30 million USD to help Vietnamese people cope with natural disasters.
Jeffries, meanwhile, said the ADB is considering a 3 million USD 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.
VNA quoted the Deputy PM saying that as rains and floods are forecast to persist, 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./.
Compiled by BTA