Vietnam will need $30 million to implement 53 humanitarian projects from now up to 2015, Red Cross General Secretary Doan Van Thai said at meeting in Hanoi from Sept 22. Of the sum, more than $14 million will be spent on disaster prevention while health care and social work projects will need around $13 million. Red Cross chairman Tran Ngoc Tang said the humanitarian projects will focus on the society’s top priorities, such as natural disaster prevention, social work and supporting the poor, disabled and Agent Orange victims. Water and environmental sanitation, health care, blood donations and organization development will also be targeted. Addressing the event, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan called on local and international partners to provide more supports to Vietnam to accomplish its humanitarian work. Doan asked the society to get a good hold on the situation of the poor and vulnerable as well as encourage organizations, enterprises and individuals to participate in humanitarian activities. She also urged the Red Cross to carry out sponsored programs and projects more effectively and practically. The two-day meeting is a good chance for local and international experts to share experiences and propose priorities for humanitarian activities over the next five years. Up to 90 projects have benefited from VND464 billion ($22.31 million) in aid from foreign and domestic institutions after the last partnership meeting in 2008, making up 10% of the organization’s total financial resources during the past three years, statistics by the Red Cross showed. (Vietnam News Sept 23 p3, vovnews.vn Sept 22)
