Flood In Đông Hà City, Quảng Trị Province. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$2.5 million grant to assist Việt Nam in providing emergency and humanitarian services to residents affected by the recent floods in the country’s central region.

“We commend the Government of Vietnam for their quick emergency response to the disaster,” said ADB Country Director for Vietnam Andrew Jeffries. He added that ADB’s grant will augment the wider government response to deliver immediate, life-saving assistance to people who need it the most, especially people who were already experiencing adverse economic impacts due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The grant is funded by the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, which was designed to provide support to ADB’s developing members affected by major natural disasters.

ADB has been working with other development partners to support the government’s disaster relief efforts, including assessing the impact of the disaster and the needs for assistance in the central provinces. ADB’s assistance aims to help ensure that people living in the disaster areas have access to basic medical and social services and resources to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

World Vision Việt Nam has also pledged its US$1.2 million Response and Early Recovery Program in response to the widespread flooding and landslides caused by the recurrent rains and typhoons in Central Việt Nam. This programme aims to address the most urgent needs with life-saving assistance and speed up life building process for the 10,000 most vulnerable households in the affected areas of Quảng Trị, Quảng Nam, and Quảng Ngãi provinces.

The Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has passed a legal provision giving US$100,000 in aid to help flood victims in central Việt Nam, according to the National Assembly (NA)’s Office.

In a letter to Chairwoman of the Vietnamese NA Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, the speaker of the FSM Congress said Việt Nam has always been in the mind of Micronesian people this year, adding that the Micronesian congress and people are impressed by the way Vietnam deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The speaker said the FSM Congress and people hope Vietnamese people will safely go through 2020, a year full of challenges. — VNS