Vietnam
ECHO FACTSHEET
shortage
Facts & Figures
EU humanitarian
assistance:
- € 24.5 million
in response to
natural disasters
since 1994
- € 13.2 million
for disaster
preparedness
since 1998, including
€ 1.2 million under
DIPECHO in 20142015
Floods triggered by tropical storms have killed hundreds, caused massive displacements and led to
widespread economic damage in the last years. © EU/ECHO/Evangelos Petratos
Key messages
 Located in one of the world's most disaster-prone regions,
Vietnam is frequently hit by tropical storms and typhoons, causing
floods and landslides. National capacity to address this has
improved over the past decade, but international support is still
needed when major calamities occur.
 The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection
department (ECHO) has provided over € 24.5 million in
humanitarian assistance to the country since 1994.
Humanitarian Aid and
Civil Protection
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: (+32 2) 295 44 00
Fax: (+32 2) 295 45 72
email:
[email protected]
Website:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo
 A well-prepared community saves lives and reduces the impact of
natural hazards. Since 1998, ECHO has invested € 13.2 million
under the Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO) to
enhance the capacity of vulnerable groups to tackle catastrophes
and limit their damage.
 The government's own Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) capacity is
now solid enough to allow ECHO to exit from the DIPECHO
programme at the end of 2015.
* All the latest ECHO
Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Vietnam – October 2014
Humanitarian situation and needs
Background
Over the past years, several cyclones and tropical storms have hit Vietnam. While local capacity
to withstand and respond to natural disasters has been substantially enhanced in the last
decade, additional support is regularly needed when large-scale calamities strike.
Major challenges
Storms with the resultant destruction of homes and livelihoods often leave inhabitants in need
of temporary shelter, clean water and sanitation, primary health care and essential non-food
items. Access to the affected populations can sometimes represent an additional challenge in
remote areas with inadequate and/or damaged infrastructure.
The European Union's humanitarian response
Funding
In 2012-2014, ECHO provided a total of € 3.77 million in humanitarian assistance to Vietnam.
In late 2013, following the devastation caused by cyclones Wutip and Nari, ECHO released € 1
million to meet the primary needs of the victims in terms of shelter, livelihood support, water,
sanitation and hygiene. The relief interventions aimed at enhancing the resilience of the most
vulnerable communities to withstand future crises. In 2012, € 270 000 were allocated to tackle
epidemics triggered by the massive floods of 2011.
In 2011, to respond to the flooding in the Mekong Delta, ECHO provided some € 2.5 million
for humanitarian aid as part of a regional funding envelope of € 21 million for relief
interventions in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia* and the Philippines*. The assistance
covered housing materials, water and sanitation, non-food relief items and livelihood
recovery. Projects were implemented by Save the Children, CARE and the French Red Cross.
Disaster Preparedness
Under its Disaster Preparedness Programme* (DIPECHO), ECHO seeks to reduce risks posed by
natural hazards to the most vulnerable populations, as well as to improve local communities'
resilience.
In the DIPECHO project cycle 2014-2015, ECHO is providing € 1.2 million to CARE Germany to
provide technical support to the roll-out of the Ministry of Education's National Community
Based Disaster Risk Management action plan, in ethnic minority areas. The project includes
activities related to the Joint Advocacy Network Initiative (JANI) which supports the wider
institutionalisation of community-based disaster risk reduction. This network is led by CARE but
involves all DIPECHO partners, other disaster risk reduction agencies and the government.
Since 1998, the European Commission has committed € 13.2 million in DIPECHO initiatives to
support community-based activities, local capacity building, small-scale mitigation actions,
early warning systems, educational and public awareness campaigns. Projects have focused on
coastal areas, the Mekong Delta and remote mountainous regions.
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Vietnam - October 2014 - Page 2 /4
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Vietnam – October 2014 - Page 3 /4
EU-funded projects in Vietnam
To further promote disaster preparedness, ECHO supports
projects like the one currently being rolled-out in six
southern provinces of Vietnam to train teachers in primary
and secondary schools on how to involve their pupils in
drafting child-friendly safe-school plans. The children
themselves enthusiastically take part in designing such
plans, as they often have first-hand experience from
natural catastrophes. This initiative, funded under
DIPECHO 2014-2015, is being implemented by a
consortium of NGOs, including CARE, Save the Children,
and Plan International. © EU/ECHO
The Mekong Delta is Vietnam's 'rice basket'. Many
communities in the area are still vulnerable to flooding like
the one in October 2011, which left thousands of the
poorest families without homes and livelihoods. ECHO funds
contributed notably to addressing the access to safe
drinking water and proper sanitation. An estimated 3 000
affected households received water filters and water storage
containers. In addition, 2 500 families received fishing nets.
Around 220 families got small boats, an essential asset in a
region with hundreds of kilometres of canals. ©
EU/ECHO/Evangelos Petratos
Epidemics pose great risks to the health, lives and
livelihoods of people, especially in developing countries.
Communicable diseases which have (re)appeared in the
last years have shown a large epidemic potential and
sometimes exceeded national resources and boundaries,
triggering major emergencies. Poverty, lack of basic
sanitation facilities, low hygienic standards, malnutrition
and natural disasters further increase the already
existing vulnerabilities. In Vietnam, following an outbreak
of the potentially deadly and highly contagious HandFoot-and-Mouth (HFMD) disease in the Mekong Delta,
ECHO allocated € 270 000 to the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in late
2012 to provide soap, detergents and hygiene training in
thousands of schools and homes, to prevent the spread
of the disease. © EU/ECHO
*All the latest ECHO Factsheets:
bit.ly/echo-fs
ECHO Factsheet – Vietnam – October 2014 - Page 4 /4