This was part of a project carried out by the Hanoi Public Medicine University in coordination with the Quang Ngai provincial Department for Health to provide assistance to victims of toxic chemicals sprayed by US troops during the war in Vietnam.

In his report, Professor-Doctor Le Ngoc Trong, an adviser in the project, described the US’s chemical warfare in Vietnam was the cruelest in human history.

He said that during the war, the US forces sprayed 72 million litres of toxic chemicals over 2,600 million hectares of land and forest, accounting for more than 10 percent of southern Vietnam.

Participants at the seminar also discussed measures for rehabilitation of Agent Orange victims.

Doctor Tran Trong Hai from the Hanoi Public Medicine University raised a project on functional rehabilitation for Agent Orange victims from 2008 to 2010 in Thai Binh, Quang Ngai and Dong Nai provinces, at a total cost of VND25 billion.

According to recent statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Quang Ngai now has 16,000 people with disabilities suffering Agent Orange infection. The province and relevant agencies have mobilised tens of millions of Vietnam dong, built nearly 300 charity houses and provided free healthcare services for about 5,000 local Agent Orange victims. At present, more than 4,000 families of Agent Orange victims are still living below the poverty line.