HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Red Cross in collaboration with the American Red Cross launched the second phase of a project on building resilience to natural hazards.

The project, launched in the central provinces of Việt Nam at a ceremony on September 28 in Hà Nội, aims to support vulnerable groups and local authorities to increase the capacity of coping with natural disasters, and reduce the risk of damage to people and properties due to climate changes.

With a total budget of nearly US$1.54 million, the project will be implemented in 33 communes/wards in four central provinces of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Trị. It is expected to benefit 37,000 residents, directly, and more than 200,000, indirectly, in the project areas.

The project will focus on establishing technical support groups and community groups and organising trainings on community-based disaster risk management and assessment. It will also carry out community-based disaster risk assessment (CBDRA) and develop natural disaster preparedness and control plans in targeted wards/communes.

Furthermore, local authorities will be assisted in integrating results from the CBDRA reports into their annual socio-economic development plans (SEDP), seeking internal resources to implement the SEDP plans.

At the household and school level, the project will support the upgrading of the early warning system, raise awareness and sharing of practical experiences in disaster preparedness and response, organise trainings in first aid, search and rescue drill and provide rescue equipments for emergency response teams.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-sponsored project will be implemented by five organisations, including the American Red Cross/Việt Nam Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services, Plan International, Save the Children and HelpAge International in Việt Nam.

In the first phase from October 2015 to June 2017, the project has made great achievements in building capacity for the local government and mass organisations in disaster risk reduction, improving community readiness and increasing resilience for primary and lower secondary schools through the implementation of Safe School Initiatives in 28 communes/wards of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Trị, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi provinces. — VNS