Japan provides aid to VN grassroots projects

HÀ NỘI — Japan has provided US$727,400 to two grassroots social projects in central Việt Nam: optical coherence tomography (OCT) equipment for the Huế Eye Hospital and a mine clearance project, managed by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in the central province of Quảng Bình.

The aid will be used to purchase OCT machines to serve some three million people suffering from eye diseases in the northern central and central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế, said Phạm Minh Trường, director of the Huế Eye Hospital, during the ceremony.

Part of Japan’s “Grassroots Grant Assistant Programme” in Việt Nam, the signing ceremony took place last week in Hà Nội with the participation of Kunio Umeda, Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam, and project representatives.

“These projects will not only minimise the threats to the existence and livelihoods of people at grassroots level, but also benefit them greatly,” Ambassador Umeda said.

Established in 1992, Japan’s Grassroots Grant Assistance Programme has supported 600 grassroots projects in Việt Nam, with Official Development Assistance (ODA) totalling $50 million. — VNS