Agriculture ministry, UNICEF boost cooperation in clean water and disaster risk management

Speaking at the event, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Vietnam Lesley Miller said that clean water, environmental sanitation, and disaster risk management are key activities within the cooperation framework between UNICEF and MARD, with the aim to mitigate impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

She stressed that MARD is an essential partner of UNICEF as both sides undertake the same mission of improving the lives of people in rural areas, providing emergency response, relief, and humanitarian assistance.

Within the cooperation framework with the ministry in the 2022-2026 period, UNICEF plans to prioritise on four groups of activities on clean water and environmental sanitation.

UNICEF will continue working on unfinished tasks related to children's health, particularly clean water and environmental sanitation for disadvantaged groups in the society.

UNICEF will also boost communication cooperation and public mobilisation to raise the awareness of people and children in particular on clean water and environmental sanitation.

In addition, UNICEF will focus on activities to improve people's resilience to climate change and their preparedness for emergency disaster, applying modern and smart technologies at reasonable prices, and creating opportunities for children and people to access clean water, particularly at schools.

MARD Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep speaking at the event (Photo: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)

According to MARD Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep, in the coming time, the Vietnamese Government will allocate a budget to completely resolve clean water issues in disadvantaged rural areas, particularly those in the northern mountainous areas including the districts of Meo Vac and Dong Van in Ha Giang Province, as well as areas affected by drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta region.

In the next five years, MARD will cooperate with UNICEF to build and propose to the Government policies, including those on public-private partnership in order to create favourable condition for the private sector to participate in the fields of clean water and environmental hygiene.

According to the General Department of Disaster Prevention and Control, UNICEF has granted nearly US$1 million to Vietnam in the past five years. UNICEF implemented numerous activities to support storms and floods victims in the central region in 2020, and assisted those suffering from drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta in 2019 – 2020 period.

Currently, UNICEF is supporting Vietnam in disaster risk reduction activities in the context when the country is facing dual impacts of natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in the implementation of the project on strengthening children’s resilience to disaster risks and climate change for the 2021-2025 period.