In response to the widespread floods that wreaked havoc in many parts of Vietnam in early August, the European Union is providing €100 000 EUR (VND2.6 bil) in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most affected communities.
The aid will directly benefit over 18 000 people in some of the hardest hit areas in the southern provinces of Dak Lak, Kien Giang, and Lam Dong.
This EU funding supports the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) in delivering much-needed assistance through the distribution of household kits, which include blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, and water buckets. Cash grants are being provided to enable the most vulnerable families to meet their basic needs and sustain their day-to-day livelihoods. To ensure access to clean water, families whose water resources have been contaminated in the aftermath of the floods will also receive water purification power. As outbreaks of vector diseases such as malaria, dengue, and typhoid are common following flooding, disease prevention and hygiene promotion activities are also being conducted.
The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
In early August, Vietnam experienced days of torrential downpours that triggered destructive floods in many parts of the country’s central and southern provinces, affecting close to 130 000 people. As a result of the flooding, over 12 000 houses were inundated while thousands of hectares of rice and other crops sustained damage, leaving the livelihoods of many in the predominantly agricultural nation in tatters. The southern province of Kien Giang was the worst hit area where more than 8 000 homes were submerged in water. The collapse of the Cam Ly landfill, which sat on top of a hill in the tourist city of Da Lat in Lam Dong, increases public health risks for those living in the affected areas.
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