UNICEF has supported over 80,000 people affected by typhoon Damrey

UNICEF and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development conducted a joint visit in Binh Dinh province this week to assess the impact of the support provided to the province as part of the national emergency response to people affected by typhoon Damrey.

“The emergency response has focused on the promotion of household drinking water safety and safe storage to reduce the risk of waterborne diseases which can often been deadly for young children”, explained Yoshimi Nishino, Chargée de Mission for UNICEF Viet Nam. “The nature and specification of the relief items were designed to be safely managed, environmentally friendly, gender sensitive and cost effective. This will enhance the resilience of beneficiaries and they will be better prepared to withstand future shocks.”

UNICEF has received more than US$ 1million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide Water, Sanitation and Hygiene life-saving interventions, which UNICEF used to install school-based water filtration systems, to procure and distribute household water storage tanks, ceramic clay pot water filters, child-friendly hygiene kits, and to conduct life-saving hygiene communication campaigns.

“My house was seriously flooded and we had to evacuate to the school which is on higher grounds, said Tran Thi Quyen, a mother of two who lives in Cat Chanh commune. “Although we were surrounded by water, we could hardly find any drinking water. UNICEF distributed a ceramic water filter which has helped us get clean water for the family. It is easy to use and I share with my community so that everyone can have clean water and for children not to suffer from diarrhea.”

“UNICEF’s support met critical needs of the affected population and it has helped increase the capacity of the people in preparedness and response to the natural disaster. It has also contributed to improve people’s health through the prevention of water-borne diseases, especially during storm and flood season”, said Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Deputy Director of the Phu Cat District of Binh Dinh Province.

UNICEF will continue to work with all partners to ensure a coordinated response with maximum impact reaching the most affected vulnerable children and women. UNICEF will also work to raise public awareness on the importance of disaster preparedness through mass and social media to trigger support to affected people and to improve resilience against future natural disasters.

“Besides efforts made by Government and people, support from international community including UNICEF are important to increase our capacity in preparedness, mitigation and resilience in dealing with natural disaster”, said Mr. Tran Kim Long, Director of the International Relations Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Development.

Typhoon Damrey, one of the worst storm to hit Viet Nam in years, made landfall in November 2017, causing flooding that affected 15 provinces in Central Viet Nam creating acute food security and agricultural livelihoods needs, as well as in the area of water and sanitation, and emergency shelters. At least 1 million children have been affected by the typhoon Damrey and subsequent flooding. Binh Dinh was one of the provinces seriously affected by typhoon Damrey.

See more info about Damrey Typhoon here

For further information please contact:

• Louis Vigneault-Dubois, UNICEF Việt Nam +84-24-38500241; +84-966539673; email : lvigneault@unicef.org
• Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hương, UNICEF Việt Nam, 84-24-38500225; +84-904154678; email: ntthuong@unicef.org