Deputy PM Urges Promoting Rehabilitation for AO Victims

More attention should be paid to strengthening the implementation of rehabilitation programs for Agent Orange/Dioxin (AO) victims, urged Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The Deputy PM made the request at a conference held in Hanoi yesterday on promoting community-based rehabilitation for victims of the toxic chemical used by the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam.Addressing the seminar, Deputy PM Phuc said the Party and State always attached great importance to AO remedial work and prioritized the implementation of rehabilitation programs for AO victims.The identification of AO-associated diseases had brought practical results, helping dioxin-infected people gradually restore their physical functions, Phuc added.As community-based rehabilitation is long-term work, more efforts and resources would be needed to ensure that 100% of the victims and their descendants would have access to rehabilitation programs, the Deputy PM said.He also urged the health sector to strengthen the examination, treatment, and rehabilitation of people suffering from disabilities and AO victims, while at the same time providing the public with information on detecting AO-related defects and injuries for early intervention and rehabilitation, as well as promoting disability prevention, replication of genetic counseling models, and construction of prenatal diagnosis laboratories in dioxin-contaminated hotspots.Experts and scientists were required to enhance their study on the impact and consequences of the toxic chemical for widespread treatment solutions.The Ministry of Health should continue to co-ordinate with ministries, agencies and localities in effectively implementing national action plans on overcoming the consequences of toxic chemicals/dioxin by 2020.Delegates at the conference analyzed and evaluated the wok on improving the quality of life for AO victims and helping them integrate into the community through interventions and rehabilitation techniques. Experts also transferred knowledge and documents on rehabilitation to victims and their families.An AO victim rehabilitation project has been deployed in Thai Binh, Quang Ngai and Dong Nai provinces during the 2008-2013 period, targeting veterans and participants in the war and their descendents who continue to be infected by the toxic chemical.The project has provided rehabilitation services and transferred knowledge on rehabilitation, as well as conducting baseline surveys and examinations on nearly 14,900 AO victims and people with disabilities, in addition to training and developing a network of collaborators in the community.To date, 7,600 AO victims had received rehabilitation at home, 343 victims had been offered operations or rehabilitation in hospitals, and 820 others had been provided with assistive devices. (nhandan.org.vn Dec 4)