Medical boats provide effective health care for flood victims
Oct. 25 (VNA) -- This October has seen inhabitants of the Mekong Delta battling against the areas worst floods in 50 years.
They are facing a food shortage, a possible outbreak of epidemics, and other unpredictable dangers brought on by the severe floods. How to effectively take care of local people, particularly women and children, in the flood season is a great concern of the local authorities.
Drawing on experiences from the two previous flood seasons in 1999 and 2000, the population and family healthcare project (funded by the Asian Development Bank) has decided to spend more than VND 10 billion (USD 660,000) on the purchase of 927 boats for 16 Mekong Delta provinces that were stricken by floods in 2000 and 2001.
In addition, the project has also helped 13 flood-hit provinces to upgrade local clinics and buy new medical equipment at a combined cost of VND 59.1 billion (almost VND 4 million) in recent years.
All district-level health care stations in the twelve provinces of the Mekong Delta have been provided with medical boats, according to director of the population and family health care project Ngo Khang Cuong.
The National Committee for Population and Family Planning has set itself a target of intensifying the reproductive health care and family planning campaign to remote and poor areas in 54 provinces across the country, including Mekong Delta localities.
The current floods in the Mekong Delta have thus far claimed 305 lives, including 241 children. More than 810 emergency child-care centres have been established by local authorities in affected provinces to take care of nearly 20,000 children while their parents are going to work.
The floods have inundated 313,000 houses, destroyed almost 3,000 others, and submerged 186 offices and 1,658 schools in 10 provinces which suffered material losses estimated at VND 886 billion (USD 59 million).
Authorities in flood-stricken areas have helped move 26,700 households to safe places, provided food relief to almost 112,000 households, as well as boats and fishing nets to more than 3,400 poor families.--VNA
