Vietnam is faced with the worst drought in almost a century, according the United Nation representative which has seriously affected about two million people living in the southern and central regions of the country. A joint rapid assessment, carried out by the Vietnamese government, the UN and non-governmental organisations in March, estimated that in the 18 most severely affected provinces in the country, as many as two million people have no access to clean water and 1.1 million are in need of food aid. Vietnam has for the first time called on the international community to support a $48.5 million emergency response plan to address the worsening drought in the country.