Brussels (VNA) – Efforts to deal with consequences of Agent Orange(AO)/dioxin should focus on environmental improvement and long-term support forAO victims along with dioxin remediation activities, heard a seminar held atthe European Parliament (EP)’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on November28.

Theevent was co-organised by the Vietnam-EU Parliamentary Friendship Group in the EPand the US’s Aspen Institute, with the participation of representatives fromsome foreign embassies in Belgium and EP agencies.

Chris Keyskens, president of the international AO victims’ Belgium chapter,said Vietnamese AO victims need support to have better lives.

Accordingto her, as of late 2017, the Belgium chapter had presented 18,414 EUR to thevictims, and the association aims to help disabled AO child victims to go toschool and provide capital for families of AO victims  in Hoi An city, Vietnam’s central province ofQuang Nam, to promote their own production activities.

Dr.Charles Bailey, former Director of the Aspen Institute Agent Orange in VietnamProgramme, introduced the book titled “From Enemies to Partners – Vietnam, theUS and Agent Orange” that he co-wrote with Dr. Le Ke Son, former ViceDirector-General of the Vietnam Environmental Administration.

Inthe book, the authors pointed out severe consequences of dioxin on Vietnamesepeople as well as local environment over the past half century.

Since2007, Vietnam and the US have begun to join hands in addressing theconsequences.

During the 2007-2018 period, the US Government has allocated a total of 136million USD to the work. The money has been used to remediate dioxin-pollutedsoil at Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat airports, and fund health care servicesfor victims in seriously-contaminated zones, he added.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and head of the Vietnamese Mission to the EUVu Anh Quang said the seminar is one of the major events of the EU-Vietnam relationsthis year, helping improve public awareness of AO/dioxin and seek solutions toaddress its consequences.

The US army sprayed some 80 million litres oftoxic chemicals in Vietnam during the war, 61 percent of which was AgentOrange, containing 366kg of dioxin. As a result, more than 3 million ha offorested land was destroyed, while basic water and food sources for millions ofpeople were contaminated.

Preliminary statistics showed that 4.8 millionVietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin. Tens of thousands ofpeople died from exposure, while millions of others went on to suffer fromcancer and other incurable diseases. Children and grand children of manyvictims have been affected with widespread birth deformities.-VNA