An event was held in Hanoi on July 25 to express gratitude to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers nationwide, which was among the activities marking the 73rd War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day (July 27).

It was attended by 300 women representing 4,962 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers across the country. Among the participants, four are over 100 years of age, 98 others over 90, and 133 more than 80.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said the Vietnamese Heroic Mother title has been bestowed and posthumously bestowed upon nearly 140,000 women over the last 25 years, since the ordinance regulating this State title of honour was issued.

The central province of Quang Nam is home to the largest number of women with this title, 15,261, followed by southern Ben Tre province with 6,905, central Quang Ngai province with 6,802, and Hanoi with 6,723.

The 4,962 title holders still alive are currently cared for by their families, organisations, and businesses, the minister noted.

Expressing his delight at seeing the Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said this is an occasion to show the Party, the State and nationwide people’s sincere sentiment and profound attention towards them – the great mothers who dedicated their beloved to resistance wars, thus hugely contributing to the struggle for national liberation, development, and defence.

The unsung sacrifice by the mothers in the rear was as great as the those by soldiers in the front line during resistance wars, he stressed, noting that their lofty sacrifice and faithfulness are a shining example of the revolutionary heroism.

He said 97% of the families of contributors to the revolution have had their living standards equivalent to or higher than the average level in their residing areas.

However, a number of war invalids are still suffering from wartime injuries while remains of many martyrs haven’t been found, and certain revolution contributors and martyrs’ relatives haven’t fully benefited from support policies or are still facing difficulties in their lives.

Therefore, the PM asked ministries, sectors and localities nationwide to push ahead with implementing preferential policies for revolution contributors, including those engaging in resistance wars, the fights defending the country, and international missions.

They also need to step up the search for and retrieval of martyrs’ remains, enhance cooperation with international partners in this task, and mobilise private resources to the care for revolution contributors, he added.