Japan, UNICEF to help Vietnam enhance resilience to disaster risks, climate change for children
The Embassy of Japan and UNICEF Vietnam on November 17 signed an exchange of notes for a project on “enhancing resilience to disaster risks and climate change for children”, which runs in Vietnam from 2021 – 2026.
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)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Embassy of Japan and UNICEF Vietnam onNovember 17 signed an exchange of notes for a project on “enhancing resilience to disaster risks and climate change for children”, which runs inVietnam from 2021 – 2026.
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./.
Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, on November 17 said the UN will continue to support Vietnam in responding challenges caused by climate change.
The EU and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed several agreements on December 1 to fund a project on improving urban infrastructure to mitigate climate change impact in four coastal provinces in the north central Vietnam.
Vietnam is among countries selected by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for private sector engagement (PSE) pilot projects to advance innovative solutions to reduce the risk and impact of natural disasters, the US Embassy in Vietnam announced on December 3.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on July 19 its assessment of a six-year project helping boost the capacity of health systems in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to climate-induced health threats.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 60 million USD financing package to improve the climate resilience of transport and water supply infrastructure in Vietnam’s south-central coastal provinces of Binh Dinh and Quang Nam, especially in remote upland districts with large ethnic minority communities.
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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)
