Health check-up for Agent Orange victims
Ha Noi, Jan. 8 (VNA) -- The Public Health Ministry has issued a document for the making of dossiers for victims of Agent Orange sprayed by the U.S. during the Viet Nam war.
The document makes the Labour, War Invalids and Social Welfare services of cities, provinces and branches responsible for completing files of those affected by toxic chemicals, especially Agent Orange, sprayed by the U.S. during their war in Viet Nam.
On the basis of these dossiers, the Medical Test Boards of cities, provinces and branches will determine the extent to which the victims have been affected, their deformities and the damage to their health.
This determination will be based on the medical tests and the standards jointly set forth by Ministries of Public Health and Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the document says.
The U.S. sprayed an estimated 72 million litres of toxic chemicals, including 42 million litres of Agent Orange, during the war in Viet Nam, says a MoLISA official.
When the war ended in 1975, two million people were reportedly affected by toxic chemicals, mostly the defoliant Agent Orange. In the first decade after the war, about 50,000 children were born with deformities or paralysis to parents believed to be toxic chemical victims.
A Fund in Support of Agent Orange Victims was founded in 1998 and had raised VND 10 billion (USD 714,285) by late 2000. --VNA
