EC’s Department Helps Mitigate Disaster Risks in Vietnam

The European Commission (EC)’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) has provided EUR14 million for 41 disaster preparedness and risk reduction projects in Vietnam over the past 17 years. The projects have been carried out by the European Union, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Red Cross societies and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 26 cities and provinces throughout the country. As many as 6.4 million people have benefited the projects thanks to the practice of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and better public awareness of DRR actions. So far, a large part of expenses for climate change adaptation programs in Vietnam have been sourced from foreign countries and organizations. The country, among five hardest-hit countries in the world, has received more than $1 billion worth of foreign funding since 2009. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment earlier said that Vietnam needs about $30 billion to carry out green growth programs by 2020 and 30% of which would be sourced from state budget and official development assistance (ODA). (Vietnamplus.vn Dec 2)