WRITTEN QUESTION E-2421/01

by Baroness Sarah Ludford (ELDR) to the Commission

(3 September 2001)

Subject: Vietnam

The use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War was a humanitarian disaster, the effects of which are still being felt today.

Can the Commission explain exactly what assistance is being given to the victims of the Vietnam War who were affected by the use of Agent Orange by Western forces?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(8 October 2001)

According to the information available to the Commission, assistance to persons affected by Agent Orange in Vietnam is mainly provided by the International Federation of the Red Cross, working in partnership with the Vietnam Red Cross, through a designated fund: the Agent Orange Fund: Assistance and rehabilitation for disabled people. This is a nation-wide programme, aimed at providing community-based services. The programme is supported by the American, German and Swiss national Red Cross societies. No request for assistance has been received by the Commission.

The Community-Vietnam bilateral co-operation programme is based on support for the Renovation Programme launched by the Government of Vietnam in 1986, which included elements of both political and economic reform. The projects supported under the programme are decided jointly with the Government in the context of a co-operation strategy which was agreed with them in 1996. Essentially, the strategy is to provide technical assistance to support the implementation of economic reforms as Vietnam develops into a market economy and at the same time to provide development assistance to alleviate the social costs of the economic reform process and help in the modernisation of the social sector.

In this context, there are three agreed priorities for development assistance:

- poverty alleviation, where the main efforts are focussed on rural development in poor and mountainous regions;

- the social sectors, where there are currently two large projects in the health sector, (one dealing with Malaria and the other with the development of the general health care system), and a project to help develop the primary education system; and

- the environment, where support is being provided for a community-based approach, linking the development of environmentally sound practice with income-generation actions for poor farmers.

The Commission's aid budget in Asia is relatively limited. The Commission is therefore determined to maximise its impact and the strategic focus it has adopted in Vietnam has helped to do that. The Commission will be reviewing the joint strategy with Vietnam over the next months. In this process, it will be ready to consider any issues that may be raised, including assistance for persons affected by Agent Orange. But the Commission will still need to ensure at the end of the day that it retains a well-balanced and focussed approach.

In addition to the bilateral cooperation programme Vietnam also qualifies for assistance under the Commission's horizontal programmes, including the non-governmental organisations (NGO) co-financing programme for developing countries. Indeed, there are several NGO actions currently being supported in Vietnam. The possibility of presenting a proposal under the next call for proposals under the NGO co-financing programme could also be considered by any NGO currently active in providing assistance to Vietnamese citizens affected by Agent Orange.