The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi announced the provision of basic support to poor and vulnerable households in Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau provinces for the prevention of COVID-19.

At the hand-over ceremony (Photo:https://www.vn.undp.org/) 

This support includes the provision of 1,300 packages of personal protective equipment and 1,300 water tanks for storage of clean water.

This initiative is part of the financial support from Japanese people under the Japan Supplementary Budget to 11 countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Vietnam. UNDP is responsible for technical support and overall management and delivery of this support.

Caitlin Wiesen, Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam, expressed her delight to work closely with the Japanese Embassy and the Vietnamese Government to provide some of the urgent COVID-19 protection needs for vulnerable, poor people in three provinces.

This support is part of an integrated response to enable vulnerable households to meet their basic needs as they recover from the pandemic and ensure no one is left behind, she said.

The Japanese Embassy’s representative also expressed the hope that Japan’s contributions will be used to help vulnerable households affected by COVID-19 and to make a real difference, especially, in the three provinces.

According to the most recent UNDP assessment, poor, near poor and vulnerable households, including small holder farmers and informal workers, are among the most affected due to impacts of COVID-19 and droughts in the South (south-central coastal and Mekong Delta regions).

The UNDP’s study says that combination of COVID-19 and drought/saltwater intrusion reduced household-level revenues by 55 percent. An average of 54 percent of households in Bac Lieu, Binh Thuan and Ca Mau faced extreme impacts caused by the combined impacts of COVID-19 and drought/saltwater intrusion. Poor households spent significantly more on water, electricity, and food during COVID-19 social distancing period; some had to sell their livestock.

As a result, the poor and near poor currently have limited ability to provide for the basic needs of their families including their ability to prevent COVID-19. They lack resources to procure water storage or hygiene items that are essential for protection against COVID-19.