More relief supplies to flood-hit localities in Vietnam
VOV.VN - The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is poised to provide at least US$100,000 in emergency relief to Vietnam’s central region which has suffered huge losses caused by floods and landslides during the past two weeks.
The natural disasters have put more than 1.5 million local children at the risk of diseases, poor nutrition and delayed development, the UN agency said on October 22.
At least 135,000 families have been directly impacted by flood water levels as high as 2 meters in certain communes, and over half a million people unable to access safe water sources.
Besides, 42 clinics have been damaged and many others are isolated by flooding, leaving many mothers and children separated from the basic and preventative health care. Schools in many localities face temporary shutdown and nearly 1.2 million students are currently off school, resulting in disrupted learning.
UNICEF experts are conducting surveys in most seriously affected provinces to assess the needs of children and women. Based on the surveys, UNICEF will raise and allocate further funds and expertise to support the Government and communities to deal with such numerous challenges.
“UNICEF has allocated an initial US$100,000 for emergency relief in water, sanitation, hygiene, health, nutrition, and education, as well as psychosocial support and child protection,“ said Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam. She added that while urgently addressing health risks, it is a must to also get children back to learning.
Elsewhere, Vietnamese embassies in Russia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Germany launched a range of fund-raising programmes to support flood victims in the central region.
In his address at the launching ceremony recently, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh highlighted the significance of the practical activity, and called on embassy staff and Vietnamese living and working in the host country to support the programme as a way of helping residents in flood-hit areas overcome consequences of natural disasters and stabilise their lives soon.
Meanwhile, fund-raising campaigns for flood-hit people in Vietnam have been promoted in Russia, while the Vietnam Embassy in Singapore has set up units to directly receive donations from organisations and individuals in the country.
Similar activities have also been launched in the RoK and Germany, showing overseas Vietnamese’s sentiments and readiness to give a helping hand to flood victims in the home country.
