Australia has announced 4 million AUD over four years for the work ofthe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Special Fund for theDisabled in Vietnam and other mine affected countries.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) saidon April 13 that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd made the announcementduring a visit to the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopaedic and RehabilitationCentre, as part of his trip to Vietnam .
TheAustralian assistance will provide rehabilitation services and improvethe quality of life for thousands of people injured by landmines inVietnam and Laos .
" Vietnam is one of themost mine contaminated countries in the region with an estimated 100,000mine survivors. Over 20 percent of the country is estimated to containsome 800,000 tonnes of explosive remnants of war which continue to killand maim scores of Vietnamese every year", said the minister.
He added that this new investment in the ICRC Special Fund for theDisabled will help centres such as this assist more men and women withprostheses and rehabilitation, giving them the opportunity to work tosupport their families and fully participate in their communities.
It builds on more than 5 million AUD Australia has invested in ICRC’swork in Vietnam and other mine affected countries since 2006, which hasprovided rehabilitation services to over 17,000 people.
Australia will also invest 2.5 million AUD through theConvention on Cluster Munitions Trust Fund of Laos. This will assist theLao government clear unexploded ordnance from heavily contaminated land- a legacy of the two million tonnes of ordnance dropped on the countryduring the Indochina conflict.
"ThisAustralian support will mean that thousands more families will be ableto farm on cleared land and hundreds of boys and girls can walk safelyto school without the risk of terrible injury or death," Minister Ruddsaid.
Since 2006, Australia has helped clearunexploded devices from more than 5 million sq.m of Laos, benefitingover 17,000 people living in contaminated provinces and providing accessto rehabilitation services for over 12,000 vulnerable people./.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) saidon April 13 that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd made the announcementduring a visit to the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopaedic and RehabilitationCentre, as part of his trip to Vietnam .
TheAustralian assistance will provide rehabilitation services and improvethe quality of life for thousands of people injured by landmines inVietnam and Laos .
" Vietnam is one of themost mine contaminated countries in the region with an estimated 100,000mine survivors. Over 20 percent of the country is estimated to containsome 800,000 tonnes of explosive remnants of war which continue to killand maim scores of Vietnamese every year", said the minister.
He added that this new investment in the ICRC Special Fund for theDisabled will help centres such as this assist more men and women withprostheses and rehabilitation, giving them the opportunity to work tosupport their families and fully participate in their communities.
It builds on more than 5 million AUD Australia has invested in ICRC’swork in Vietnam and other mine affected countries since 2006, which hasprovided rehabilitation services to over 17,000 people.
Australia will also invest 2.5 million AUD through theConvention on Cluster Munitions Trust Fund of Laos. This will assist theLao government clear unexploded ordnance from heavily contaminated land- a legacy of the two million tonnes of ordnance dropped on the countryduring the Indochina conflict.
"ThisAustralian support will mean that thousands more families will be ableto farm on cleared land and hundreds of boys and girls can walk safelyto school without the risk of terrible injury or death," Minister Ruddsaid.
Since 2006, Australia has helped clearunexploded devices from more than 5 million sq.m of Laos, benefitingover 17,000 people living in contaminated provinces and providing accessto rehabilitation services for over 12,000 vulnerable people./.
