UNFPA provides $180,000 in flood relief to elderly Vietnamese

Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) representative in Vietnam, handed over 3,704 kits containing essential items to Bui Quang Huy, standing secretary of the HCMC Communist Youth Union, to support the elderly in three central Vietnam provinces afflicted by floods last year: Ha Tinh, Quang Tri and Quang Ngai at a Wednesday ceremony.

Dignity Kits are a signature product of UNFPA's comprehensive package of humanitarian assistance to safeguard the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, mitigate the risk of gender-based violence, and respond to and protect the dignity of women and girls adversely affected by a crisis. Kits meant for the elderly contain items like hand towels, sweaters, socks, wet tissues, toothbrushes, soap, underwear, blankets, flashlights and whistles.

The handover was made possible via financial contributions from U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), according to a UNFPA press release.

The elderly are among the most vulnerable when natural disasters strike, according to UNFPA. During floods and landslides in central Vietnam last year, health facilities were hard hit, causing routine public health programs to be disrupted, it added. The elderly are at risk since they do not always get the care they need, and their vulnerabilities can become a serious challenge to survival and wellbeing, it stated.

Last year, central Vietnam was struck by a series of storms and tropical depressions, triggering heavy rains, flooding and landslides. Over 200 people were killed and property losses amounted to around VND30 trillion ($1.3 trillion). Hundreds of thousands of homes were either destroyed or damaged, affecting the lives of at least 7.7 million residents.

The Vietnamese government has provided around VND770 billion to the region as emergency relief. Many international organizations and countries like the U.S., U.K. and Australia also provided aid to assist the resumption of normal life.