The opening ceremony was attended by State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and more than 6,000 volunteers.

Statistics collected by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies show that more than three billion people are living in urban areas and this figure will rise to 4.9 billion by 2030. Of this total, about one million people live in slums or in unhygienic conditions.

Environmental pollution, a shortage of clean water, poverty, social evils, and housing and job shortages remain major challenges in urban areas.

Addressing the ceremony, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan said that although urbanization is an inevitable process, timely action must be taken to curb its negative aspects. She urged the Red Cross to play an active role in raising awareness and instilling responsibility in every citizen.

Urbanization has proceeded rapidly in Vietnam over the past 25 years, especially in Hanoi, HCM City and Danang.

The Vietnam Red Cross has recently joined hands with ministries and other societies to alleviate problems of people who suffer the negative impacts of urbanization. It has also endeavoured to expand its ranks of young volunteers and apply different ways to mobilize resources to help these ‘victims’.