New Zealand supports vulnerable women in once Covid hotspot Hai Duong

By Viet Anh May 7, 2021 | 01:29 am PT

Women in Hai Duong Province receive coupons for going to the market amid a Covid-19 outbreak on February 17, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Bui.

A total 270 vulnerable, female-headed families in the northern province of Hai Duong will receive Covid assistance worth over $36,000 under a project funded by New Zealand.

Aid will be distributed to residents in five communes of Kim Mon District, hit hard by Covid-19 earlier this year. Priority is given to families with disabled people, with the total number of beneficiaries expected to reach 1,215.

The families will receive support to restore their livelihoods and purchase necessities like food, medicine, children's books, and cover tuition fees and/or healthcare services.

"Agricultural economists will complete a needs assessment to understand the demand for agricultural products or services, thereby providing livelihood products like seeds, breeds, fertilizer, or production tools suited to each family," a Friday press release from the New Zealand Embassy stated.

This is a new project carried out by New Zealand and East Meets West Foundation (EMWF), a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization focused on improving the health and wellbeing of communities in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson said this is the third Covid-19 relief project the New Zealand Embassy has supported in Vietnam.

In February and March, women operating in the informal economy of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Hai Phong, and Da Nang received the same aid to deal with the pandemic.