Vietnam Hanoi Sets up Fund for AO Victims

Authorities in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi have set up a fund for local Agent Orange victims in an effort to help them lead a normal life with basic living conditions. The fund aims to call for different financial sources domestically and abroad to ease the pains of around 35,000 AO people including 250 households having at least three victims who are in miserable conditions. So far, just a half of the victims have received supports from the state’s supports. Vietnam operated Nov 2009 the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin Fund (VAVAF) in a bid to support the country’s AO victims which is estimated to hit 4.8 million. From 1961 to 1971 in the Vietnam War, the U.S. army sprayed about 80 million liters of defoliants including the highly toxic Agent Orange over 10% of total areas in southern Vietnam. The action has left serious consequences on people, environment and social issues in the country. (Ha Noi Moi Jan 7 p7, www.cand.com.vn Jan 7)