Press Release

United Nations and Turkey sign USD 50,000 agreement to support disaster preparedness and related coordination activities

31 January 2018

Ha Noi, 31 January 2018 - Viet Nam is especially vulnerable to effects of changing weather patterns, which have recently led to an increase in the severity and number of typhoons and storms impacting the country. 2017 was marked by extensive national efforts to respond to the devastating impacts of Typhoon Damrey, which, together with 15 additional storms, led to economic losses estimated at more than VND 51.6 trillion (about USD 2.3 billion). Furthermore, Damrey and other storms caused severe human suffering, with over 375 people dead or missing, and over 4 million affected. Going forward, it is expected that Viet Nam will continue to face an increase in severe weather patterns which negatively impact of the well-being of its people and the development of the country.

The UN in Viet Nam has a key role in coordinating response efforts by all humanitarian partners, including INGOs and development partners, and has built a successful bridge between the Government and the wider humanitarian community. The UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, Mr. Kamal Malhotra, noted that "With this arrangement between the Turkish Government and the UN in Viet Nam, I strongly believe that disaster coordination will continue to support the necessary life-saving humanitarian preparedness and response efforts of the UN and other partners to the expectations of the vulnerable citizens of Viet Nam".

The UN Resident Coordinator also reiterated his acknowledgement of financial contributions from other co-funding partners to the Government of Viet Nam, the Viet Nam Red Cross, UN agencies and INGOs. These are: the Governments of Australia, China, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States. Without the financial contributions of such partners, the timely response to the impacts of natural disasters such as typhoon Damrey would not have been possible.

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