VietNamNet - The US government has been involved in assisting the people of Vietnam in overcoming the impact on the health and livelihood of individual Vietnamese citizens caused by explosive remnants of war (ERW) since 1993. 

Vietnam was formally accepted as the 37th participant in the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Program in June 2000, and the US government is now the largest donor of humanitarian assistance for mine action programmes in Vietnam, said the Hanoi-based US embassy's press releases on April 4. 

The US government has funded nearly US $33 million in a broad spectrum of programmes to alleviate not only the impact on the health and livelihood of individual Vietnamese citizens, but also to remove the source of the problem by funding projects that locate, remove and destroy unexploded ordinance and landmines. 

Of that amount, USAID’s Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF) has provided more than US $19 million to Vietnam through numerous non-government organisations and private voluntary organisations since the fiscal year 1991.

The LWVF aims to improve the mobility, health, and socio-economic integration for persons with disabilities, including those who have sustained physical disabilities as a result of landmine-related incidents.

A recent US government funded project, Phase I of an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Landmine Impact Survey, was completed in 2005. This survey interviewed over 5,000 participants in 344 communes in Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Ha Tinh provinces and led directly to the clearance of more than 6,200 pieces of ERW. 

Phase II is planned to commence this year and will expand the survey efforts to the provinces of Nghe An, Thua Thien - Hue, and Quang Nam, as well as Da Nang City. 

In addition to supporting various non-government organisations operating in the fields of ERW clearance, risk education and victim rehabilitation, the US government has also donated a vast array of equipment to the People's Army of Vietnam to assist them in their efforts to carry out UXO and landmine clearance in support of infrastructure development projects and to return land to productive use. 

Included in recent years' donations have been ambulances, firetrucks, motorcycles, mine detectors, individual protective equipment, a mobile blast containment system, robotic equipment, and other specialised equipment to support underwater demining activities.

The US embassy said that the U.S. Department of State plans to donate an additional $3.3 million to support the continuation of mine action activities in Vietnam in the fiscal year 2006.  The US government remains committed to the principle of humanitarian assistance, and is looking forward to an active and productive partnership with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the years ahead.

(Source: ND)