Rescuers use a boat to move children to safe places amid the historic flood in the central province of Quang Tri last year. (Photo: VNA)The exchange of notes was inked by Japanese Ambassador TakioYamada and UNICEF Representative in Vietnam Rana Flowers in the presence ofVietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep.
The 5.7-million-USD project aims to build institutional capacityto support child-centred and climate-sensitive activities through policyadvocacy to access 27,000 children under 18 in central Vietnam and the MekongDelta, especially Soc Trang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces.
It will also improve water and sanitation services andconduct screening for severe acute malnutrition to make timely interventions in2025.
Speaking at the event, Hiep thankedthe Japanese Government and UNICEF for supporting risk reduction and otherfields, including nutrition, healthcare, education and clean water supply, tomeet basic needs of people in natural disaster-prone areas.
The signing of the document marked an important milestone in the close partnershipamong the Governments of Vietnam and Japan and UNICEF, he said.
Hiep further noted that his ministry hopes the Government ofJapan and UNICEF will continue sharing experience and promoting Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) in enhancing the resilience of natural disaster response projectsand management system.
He also expected Japan and UNICEF to put forwardrecommendations for Vietnam, carry out behaviour-change campaigns, and enhance awareness of people and policymakers in disaster risk reduction in order tobuild a disaster-resilient society.
Flowers, for her part, said the climate crisis is a crisis of children’srights. Vietnam is facing climate change-related disasters, like droughtand saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, as well as historic floods andlandslides in central Vietnam last year, she said.
Many communities already hit by natural disasters aresuffering adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted, adding that theproject will address vulnerable issues in multiple areas, namely clean water,sanitation, nutrition, education and children’s protection.
Additionally, the project does not only consider children as avulnerable group but also an agent of change for a green, clean and safe community.
According to the UNICEP Children’s Climate Risk Index 2021,Vietnamese children and adolescents are at the highest risk of being affectedby climate change./.
VNA
