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UNDP presents medical supplies to poor housholds in Ninh Thuan to help them in the battle against COVID-19 epidemic. Source: UNDP Vietnam

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the south- central province of Ninh Thuan presented 500 packages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and 500 domestic water tanks for storage of clean water to poor households living in six districts.

Each water tank has a capacity of 1,000 liters. A total of 1,000 masks and 7,500 bars of soap were also provided to the poor people. This activity is part of an integrated response funded by Japan to assist Vietnamese people in COVID-19 prevention and control.

This initiative is part of the generous financial support from the people of Japan under the Japan Supplementary Budget (COVID-19) to 11 countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Vietnam. UNDP is responsible for technical support and overall management and delivery of this support.

According to UNDP’s assessment of the multiple impacts of COVID-19 and drought, poor people in the South-Central Coast and Mekong Delta regions of Vietnam, including Ninh Thuan province have been seriously affected.

More than 54 percent of the surveyed households have been extremely impacted by the pandemic and the ongoing context of drought. Almost 80 percent of surveyed households reported that they lacked water for cooking and drinking, while more than 83 percent of households lacked water for basic hygiene activities. They lack resources to procure water storage for hygiene activities needed for COVID-19 prevention.

“PPE and water tanks for clean water storage will help the poor and the near poor to response to COVID-19, especially in the context of recurrent droughts. This support is part of our commitment to ‘Leave No One Behind’, made possible by the generous funding from the people of Japan,” said Ms. Sitara Syed, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam.

An average of 54 percent of households in Bac Lieu, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau faced extreme impacts caused by the combined impacts of COVID 19 and drought/saltwater intrusion

Doan Thi Tuyet Nga – VNDMA Director of Department of Technology and International Cooperation said, “VNDMA is strongly committed to enhance resilience of vulnerable households. This support by UNDP and Japan in Ninh Thuan is very timely and relevant.”

Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau are three provinces in the South-Central Coast and Mekong Delta regions that receiving the support of 1,500 water tanks and 1,500 packages of personal protective equipment from the Japan-funded integrated response in Vietnam.

Vietnam has registered no coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, and September 19 marks the 17th day in a row that the country has been clear of the virus in the community.

Doctors have successfully treated 942 out of 1,068 patients confirmed nationwide so far. The number of death toll remains unchanged at 35, with most of them suffering from other related health issues such as chronic renal failure, cancer, pneumonia, diabetes and multi-organ failure.

Though the outbreak has been brought under control, the poor, near poor and vulnerable households, including small holder farmers and informal workers, are among the most affected.

Ninh Thuan is home to 34 ethnic minority groups with more than 144,200 people, accounting for 24.43 percent of the province’s total population. Of the figure, more than 67,270 people are from Cham group and over 58,910 are from Raglai group, accounting for 11.9 percent and 10.42 percent of the total population, respectively./.

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