Foreign donors granted a total of $6.8 million in aid to Ho Chi Minh City in the first six months of this year, Nguyen Thi My Tien, General Secretary of the city’s Union of Friendship Organizations, said at a meeting on July 8. Of the total, 60% came from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the rest from foreign companies and individuals, the state-run Vietnam News Agency cited Tien as saying July 8. Most of the funding went to the municipal Department of Health and Committee for HIV/AIDS Prevention, Tien said. Tien added that the city has to date gained many achievements in social welfare, education, health, poverty reduction and job generation, thanks to contributions of international donors. Tien pledged that the union will work with relevant agencies to streamline the current procedures concerning NGOs’ operations. HCM City is calling for aid totaling $713,000 for more than 20 projects, including HIV/AIDS prevention; scholarships, assistance for poor students, protection and support of street children as well as ethnic minority children. There are 141 NGOs operating in the city, of which 58 from the U.S. and Canada, 47 from Europe and 36 from the Asia Pacific region. Half of the NGOs work in the fields of health, education and social affairs, Tien added.
