UNFPA hands over 6,903 dignity kits to local women

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently handed over 6,903 dignity kits to the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union (VFU) in support of women and girls at risk of violence in five central provinces hit by flooding - Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Nghe An, and Thanh Hoa. 

The kits were funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.

Women and girls in the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Nam received similar kits earlier.

More than 12,400 women from eight central provinces have received such kits so far.

Speaking at the ceremony, UNFPA Chief Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara said the dignity kits are part of the UNFPA’s comprehensive humanitarian assistance package to protect sexual and reproductive health, ensure the rights of women and girls, cut the risk of gender violence, and shield women and girls from the negative impact of crises.

VFU Chairman Thao Xuan Sung, for his part, lauded the close cooperation over the years between the UNFPA and the VFU Central Committee in the fields of population, reproductive healthcare, gender equality, and the prevention of violence against women and girls.

He also thanked the UNFPA for providing effective support to women and girls in central localities hit by floods.

According to a national study in 2019 on violence against women, nearly two out of three married women suffered one or more kinds of physical, sexual, emotional, or economic violence in the previous 12 months. Some 48 percent said they did not reveal their problem to anyone, while 90.4 percent did not seek any support from relevant authorities. Workplace productivity loss due to violence against women accounted for 1.81 percent of GDP in 2018./.