US aid to help Vietnam disabled near Agent Orange hotspot

AFP 30 October 2008

The United States on Wednesday launched aid projects for disabled people in Vietnam with one million dollars in funding allocated by Congress last year for Agent Orange and dioxin relief. The three US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects will help people with disabilities in the central city of Danang access health services and gain skills to find jobs, the US embassy said in a statement. During the Vietnam war, US forces sprayed about 80 million litres (21 million gallons) of Agent Orange, which contains the toxin dioxin, and other herbicides to deprive their enemies of forest cover and food crops. Washington has never accepted responsibility for the millions of Vietnamese people who the communist government says have died or suffered from direct or second-generation disabilities due to Agent Orange.

However, both sides have worked together to use the three million dollars approved by Congress in May 2007 to clean up environmental damage surrounding dioxin storage sites and to support health programmes. The remaining two million dollars will be used for other dioxin-related programmes in Danang, site of the largest wartime US airbase, which has been identified as one of several dioxin "hotspots" in central and southern Vietnam.

To date, the US government has given more than 46 million dollars in assistance to people with disabilities in Vietnam, said the US embassy. "The American people are committed to bringing a better future to the disabled who can go far in life if given the assistance, encouragement and opportunities for education and employment," said Ambassador Michael Michalak.