Society

Friendship Village supports AO sufferers

Providing better healthcare services, education and vocational training for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims is one of the key tasks of the Vietnam Friendship Village, which aims to help all members of the society integrate into the wider community.
Providing better healthcare services, education and vocational trainingfor Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims is one of the key tasks of theVietnam Friendship Village, which aims to help all members of thesociety integrate into the wider community.

An internationalconference in Hanoi on April 28 heard that the village has taken goodcare of war veterans and children suffering from impact of the chemical.

Besides offering medical treatment for around 120 AO victimsand 80 servicemen and women, the village has also focused on improvingthe spiritual life for the beneficiaries through music performances andsports activities since it was founded in 1998.

Training courses on computing, embroidery and communication skills are also made available for the victims.

According to the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange(AO)/dioxin (VAVA), US forces sprayed 80 million litres of AO containingalmost 400kg of dioxin on Vietnam’s southern battlefields over a10-year period beginning on August 10, 1961.

Preliminary statistics by Vietnamese scientists indicated about 3million Vietnamese people were exposed to dioxin. The toxic chemical hashad a severe impact on Vietnam’s subsequent generations.-VNA
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