UNICEF Affirms Continued Support to Vietnam in Climate Change Response

UNICEF Vietnam has announced that it will continue to work closely with Vietnamese agencies to implement projects against climate change which has caused negative impacts to many parts of the country, especially the Mekong delta. UNCEF Vietnam will enhance its partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), line ministries and partners such as VietnamRed Cross and Women’s Union to carry out the ongoing emergency response program for vulnerable children and women in affected areas. The program with a focus on child-centered disaster risk reduction and risk-informed programming in Vietnam, one of five hardest-hit countries by climate change. The organization’s priorities will be on bettering water sources for local residents. Lack of safe drinking water and poor hygiene conditions pose high public health risks to vulnerable communities in affected provinces, it said in a latest report. Accordingly, its priorities will stress on the ongoing emergency response, including water purification, hygiene promotion and nutrition interventions. Vietnam’s National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) reported that average water levels in the Mekong River will be 10%-20% lower than previous years. Saline intrusion has been subsequently reported in many provinces in the region and the situation becomes worse. Over the past years, saltwater has spread to 20 kilometers of the Tien river, one of two biggest rivers in the region, with high salt content. Salinity will reach its peak in February and March, 2017, according to the NCHMF. The impact is anticipated to be less severe than 2015, but more intense than normal years, it noted. (Reliefweb.int Dec 12)