At the hand-over ceremony (Photo:https://www.vn.undp.org/) HCM City (VNA) - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) andthe Japanese Embassy in Hanoi announced the provision of basic support to poorand vulnerable households in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau provinces forthe prevention of COVID-19.
This support includes the provision of 1,300 packages of personal protectiveequipment and 1,300 water tanks for storage of clean water.
This initiative is part of the financial support from Japanese people under theJapan Supplementary Budget to 11 countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Vietnam.UNDP is responsible for technical support and overall management and deliveryof this support.
Caitlin Wiesen, Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam, expressed her delightto work closely with the Japanese Embassy and the Vietnamese Government to providesome of the urgent COVID-19 protection needs for vulnerable, poor people inthree provinces.
This support is part of an integrated response to enable vulnerable householdsto meet their basic needs as they recover from the pandemic and ensure no oneis left behind, she said.
The Japanese Embassy’s representative also expressed the hope that Japan’s contributionswill be used to help vulnerable households affected by COVID-19 and to make areal difference, especially, in the three provinces.
According to the most recent UNDP assessment, poor, near poor and vulnerablehouseholds, including small holder farmers and informal workers, are among themost affected due to impacts of COVID-19 and droughts in the South (south-centralcoastal and Mekong Delta regions).
The UNDP’s study says that combination of COVID-19 and drought/saltwaterintrusion reduced household-level revenues by 55 percent. An average of 54percent of households in Bac Lieu, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau faced extreme impactscaused by the combined impacts of COVID-19 and drought/saltwater intrusion. Poorhouseholds spent significantly more on water, electricity, and food duringCOVID-19 social distancing period; some had to sell their livestock.
As a result, the poor and near poor currently have limited ability to providefor the basic needs of their families including their ability to preventCOVID-19. They lack resources to procure water storage or hygiene items thatare essential for protection against COVID-19./.
VNA
