Help for Agent Orange victims

Help for Agent Orange victims

HANOI (Reuters): The Vietnam Red Cross Society will establish the country's first nationwide fund to help victims suffering from exposure to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange, an official said yesterday.

The official said many areas across the country had already set up local funds, but a decree signed last month by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai instructed the Vietnam Red Cross to set up a nationwide vehicle for contributions.

Money would come from the Vietnamese community, organizations abroad, profits from the fund's own investments and the state budget, the official said. The fund would be formally launched on Friday, he added.

During the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed millions of liters of chemical defoliants over vast areas of the country in an attempt to prevent communist forces using forest and jungle cover to carry out operations.