In line with this, donation efforts have been largely aimed at people in the provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Nghe An, and Thanh Hoa, with the kits being funded by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.

At present, over 12,400 women across eight central provinces have so far received the kits.

Upon addressing the hand-over ceremony, Naomi Kitahara, chief representative of UNFPA in Vietnam, said the dignity kits are part of the UNFPA’s comprehensive humanitarian assistance package aimed at protecting sexual and reproductive health and ensuring the rights of women and girls. In addition, they hope to cut the risk of gender violence whilst shielding women and girls from the negative impact of crises.

In response, Thao Xuan Sung, chairman of the VFU, hailed the close co-operation over the years between the UNFPA and the VFU Central Committee in fields such as population, reproductive healthcare, gender equality, and the prevention of violence which targets women and girls.

Sung also thanked the UNFPA for providing effective support to women and girls based in central localities which have been heavily impacted by floods.

According to a national study on violence against women conducted in 2019, nearly two out of three married women have suffered one or more kinds of physical, sexual, emotional, or economic violence over the previous 12 months.

The survey shows that approximately 48% did not reveal their issues to anyone, while 90.4% did not seek any support from relevant authorities. Workplace productivity loss due to violence against women also accounted for a 1.81% loss of GDP in 2018.