The entire society should take responsibility for caring for victims of Agent Orange/dioxin spiritually and materially to help reduce their sufferings, Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh has said. General Thanh, who is also a Politburo member of the Party Central committee, stressed war aftermaths, including AO/dioxin consequences, were devastating, requiring to be addressed both in short and long terms. Thanh worked with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) in Hanoi on July 30. He pledged that the Defense Ministry will be more proactive in proposing amendments and supplements to current policies related to AO victims to relieve their pains. The Ministry has, over the past years, located dioxin hotspots and taken measures to detoxify these areas.
VAVA President Nguyen Van Rinh said since its establishment seven years ago, the Association has mobilized resources in and outside the country to aid the victims materially and spiritually. The VAVA has to date had 58 chapters in provinces and cities nationwide. Despite economic difficulties, the Party and State have issued a series of policies in support of AO victims. Businesses and donors have also joined hands in caring for the victims, Rinh said. However, the VAVA President raised the fact that only 200,000 out of more than 3 million victims have so far benefited from Party and State policies. Third-generation victims and those living or working in heavily dioxin-contaminated areas are yet to be supported by the policies, he said. (vietnamplus.vn Jul 30)
