Over the past 12 years, the Ministry of Health in Vietnam have been carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the continuing effects of dioxin contamination across the country. The evidence shows that the majority of land in Vietnam is not contaminated and that concentrations of dioxin in most of Vietnam are within international guidelines. However, there remain “hotspots” of serious contamination particularly around former US bases where dioxin and other herbicides were stored and deployed. The main priorities are to protect communities living in these areas and to provide support for those already affected.
The Vietnam Government are implementing policies, standards and guidelines to deal with the problem. This work is being funded by a number of agencies including the Canadian International Development Agency, Ford Foundation, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. DFID provides budget support to Vietnam through its funding of the World Bank's Poverty Reduction Support Credit. Part of this supports work on environmental standards and waste management. In addition, our education programmes (around £40 million) support inclusive education for children with disabilities (including from dioxin) and our core funds to the UN (£4 million) also support UN work on environmental management. A large number of international and national non-governmental organisations also provide support to Agent Orange victims, including the Vietnam Red Cross, Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange, the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, and Oxfam-Hong Kong.