This support includes the provision of 1,300 packages of personal protective
equipment and 1,300 water tanks for storage of clean water.
This initiative is part of the financial support from Japanese people under the
Japan Supplementary Budget to 11 countries in Asia and the Pacific, including
Vietnam. UNDP is responsible for technical support and overall management and
delivery of this support.
Caitlin Wiesen, Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam, expressed her
delight to work closely with the Japanese Embassy and the Vietnamese Government
to provide some of the urgent COVID-19 protection needs for vulnerable, poor
people in three provinces.
This support is part of an integrated response to enable vulnerable households
to meet their basic needs as they recover from the pandemic and ensure no one is
left behind, she said.
The Japanese Embassy’s representative also expressed the hope that Japan’s
contributions will be used to help vulnerable households affected by COVID-19
and to make a real difference, especially, in the three provinces.
According to the most recent UNDP assessment, poor, near poor and vulnerable
households, including small holder farmers and informal workers, are among the
most affected due to impacts of COVID-19 and droughts in the South
(south-central coastal and Mekong Delta regions).
The UNDP’s study says that combination of COVID-19 and drought/saltwater
intrusion reduced household-level revenues by 55 percent. 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. Poor
households spent significantly more on water, electricity, and food during
COVID-19 social distancing period; some had to sell their livestock.
As a result, the poor and near poor currently have limited ability to provide
for the basic needs of their families including their ability to prevent
COVID-19. They lack resources to procure water storage or hygiene items that are
essential for protection against COVID-19.
Source: VNA