The handover ceremony in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently handed over 6,903 dignity kits to the Central Committee of the Việt Nam Farmers’ Union (VFU) in support of women and girls at risk of gender-based violence in five central provinces hit by flooding – Thừa Thiên-Huế, Quảng Trị, Quảng Ngãi, Nghệ An, and Thanh Hoá.

Dignity kits generally contain menstrual pads, soap, underwear, detergent powder, sanitary napkins, a flashlight, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a comb, all housed inside a backpack or easy-to-carry bucket

The kits were funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.

Women and girls in the central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, and Quảng Nam received similar kits earlier.

More than 12,400 women from eight central provinces have received such kits so far.

Speaking at the ceremony, UNFPA Chief Representative in Việt Nam Naomi Kitahara said the dignity kits were part of the UNFPA’s comprehensive humanitarian assistance package to protect sexual and reproductive health, ensure the rights of women and girls, cut the risk of gender violence, and shield women and girls from the negative impact of crises.

VFU Chairman Thào Xuân Sùng lauded the close ties over the years between the UNFPA and the VFU Central Committee in population, reproductive healthcare, gender equality, and the prevention of violence against women and girls.

He also thanked the UNFPA for helping women and girls in central localities hit by floods.

According to a national study in 2019 on violence against women, nearly two out of three married women suffered one or more kinds of physical, sexual, emotional, or economic violence in the previous 12 months. VNS