Current Strategies to Address Agent Orange

By on August 10, 2010 • Topics: Current Affairs,Featured,Health,News,Philanthropy & NGOs

Aug. 10 is marked Agent Orange Day to show support for those affected by the dioxin in Vietnam. Post this Agent Orange Day Badge to your Facebook profile to show support for victims of agent orange. Invite friends to do the same here:

http://www.facebook.comMakeAgentOrangeHistory?v=app_139564296078062For further discussions on this topic, log on to www.onevietnam.org.To understand more about what Agent Orange is, please watch this video:

The legacy of Agent Orange is still very much alive today.   While the war ended many decades ago, its chilling aftermath still lingers today and affects over 150,000 children in Vietnam.  To refresh your knowledge about this harmful chemical, please read the article Understanding Agent Orange.

While VTP has published numerous articles describing Agent Orange,  a common question (and debate) has surfaced time and again regarding how to address the Agent Orange legacy.  Today’s article will review current approaches to this problem while offering a historical perspective on the progress made thus far.

The following information reflects the efforts of the Ford Foundation and its many partners.

The First Phase – Test and Contain

The Ford Foundation and its grantees developed a multifaceted approach to test and contain dioxin-contaminated soils, restore landscapes, develop treatments and support centers for affected Vietnamese, and educate the US public and policymakers.  Towards these efforts, the Ford Foundation has since 2000 brought in new supporters and foundations and has committed $12 million.

Most importantly, the initial phase called for collaborative efforts between the US and Vietnam to identify, contain, and clean-up dioxin “hot spots”.  The story begins in 2000.

A grant of $150,000 made to the Vietnam Red Cross Agent Orange Victims Fund provided a valuable opportunity to obtain an “on-the-ground” perspective of the “profound impact of Agent Orange and how much remained to be done”.

Around this time, a study released by the Vietnam Ministry of Health-Hatfield environmental consulting firm showed that “high levels of dioxin remains at former US military bases”.  This suggested that dioxin was “principally a point-source pollutant” and that an effective containment strategy would focus on these “hot spots”.

To test this “hot spot hypothesis”, the Ford Foundation granted $289,000 to the Vietnam Ministry of Health and Hatfield to survey former US military bases.  The study, conducted between 2002-2005, showed that 28 military sites contained significant amount of dioxin. The results of these studies provided an opportunity to engage the US government.

The Next Step – Diplomatic Breakthroughs

In 2003, Ford funded a conference held in Washington D.C.  on “The Future of the US-Vietnam Relationship”.  The conference involved dialogues among “senior officials of both governments” and “academics, NGOs, and the business community” on topics of trade agreements, etc.  The conference also addressed the “most difficult subject of all” – the legacies of war and Agent Orange.  The outcome of this conference helped propel the Agent Orange issue into “international politics and diplomatic arena”.

In November of 2006, a diplomatic breakthrough occurred when President George W. Bush and President Nguyen Minh Triet issued a joint statement on Agent Orange stating that both nations acknowledged the dioxin problem and agreed to address this issue in order to continue “development of [US-VN] bilateral relationship”.

In February of 2007, former US Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Marine, secured $400,000 in government funding for “remediation at Da Nang”, an area heavily affected by Agent Orange.  The Ford Foundation contributed an additional $1.3 million to this project.

Current Strategy – Engage the Public

While Ford and its partners have been successful in many projects in the past, the future of “effective and sustainable programs over time would require more than the support of two governments and courageous grantees”.  The current strategy has been to initiate a “citizen-to-citizen dialogue to raise awareness of people in the US” including officials and business leaders.

In 2007, the US-VN Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin met “to advance a humanitarian approach”.  The group made a significant impact by briefing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and State Department officials in addition to testifying at Congressional hearings.  The result of such lobbying efforts led Congress to appropriate $3 million for Agent Orange/dioxin work in Vietnam for the fiscal years 2007, 2009, 2010.

Ford and 4 other foundations will continue to support the Dialogue Group and its mission to “address the health and environmental consequences of Agent Orange”.  The Dialogue Group has contributed to “strengthening health services for people with disabilities, helped upgrade medical facilities, trained healthcare workers, and provided surgeries, therapy, education and job opportunities”.

Other efforts include an innovative case-management system in Da Nang which promotes “equal opportunities for young adults with disabilities, support self-help groups, challenged the stigma and discrimination, and continue public education in the US and Vietnam.”

Social Media, Web 2.0 and the World

Any movement towards a noble cause requires a strong focus on public outreach and education.  The legacy of Agent Orange and the future of remediation efforts by foundations and non-profit groups must focus on ways (and venues) to reach out to the public.

The phenomenon of the web 2.0 and the popularity of social media has become the prime vehicle for news delivery and social awareness.  OneVietnam Network is committed to educating and engaging the public about the impact of Agent Orange and current efforts to help victims of this toxic chemical.

For more stories about Agent Orange, please read our other features on VTP.

The Author: Brian Luong

Brian Luong is the editor-in-chief of Vietnam Talking Points. Brian is currently pursuing a DMD-MBA joint degree program at Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. Extended Bio.

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  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1387060182 Karen Smith

    I certainly appreciate the information and effort put forth by the Ford Foundation and others to address this tragic situation. It's difficult, though, to ignore the fact that we are responsible for perpetrating this crime against fellow human beings during the war…let alone the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of those soldiers.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=759993899 Khanh Truong

    peace is good, but wrong direction Calvin Hue Quach…!!!!gday…

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000805702568 Calvin Hue Quach

    @KT, actually I used this idea of Agent Orange which cause by U.S in the past. Tht's why U.S agree to lift embargo toward Vietnam for compensation during Clinton's administration! wow time fly~~

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=759993899 Khanh Truong

    why is it that so hard for the American government -leaders so to speak of such a Christian nation to do a very thing, one simple thing commanded by God and that is to love everyone including Vietnam which at that point was still far uncivilized, and the best way to express that love is to publicly admit your wrong doing in the past to hurt the young generation. What has been done wrong publicly internationally must be sincerely apologized publicly internationally!!! which I don't think the Government will do, you care more of yourself more than what God thinks you should do….it's great to see people individually like myself, Karen Smith, Ford corporation (still it's a business entity) and hopefully many more to see this horrible crime against another human. Let me know if you found of such apology made at the government level in the past between two nations…before the people of Vietnam, if not the world can trust you and your motives for anything else in the future….let that alone to determine whether or not the trust can be restored….I doubt it….God Bless!!!

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1062625128 MT DC

    to KT, what make you think that the USgovt & leader didn't do anything about the agent orange? Have you ever asking the same question when Japanese burn ton of rice during there year in VN that leave hundreds of thousand die? What about the Chinese, Russian’s weapons that kill millions of peoples during Vn’war, and hundreds of thousand disable ? Are you going to ask them pay for the suffer and hardship of our people? Stop bashing this great nation! One little note, the Vietnamese communist government are the one that exploited this tragic for their benefit, they should do their part by not forcing people to live in that land. They could have move the peoples where else but choose not to so they can get $$$ and revenge from the US.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=759993899 Khanh Truong

    to MT DC (correct?? an apology if I didn't get that name correctly…)…I'm not trying to win this debate in anyway (what good is it?) or go over the list of all the things that other countries did harm to Vietnam in the past (could be a lot more than what has been reported in the history though)…I'm just asking to see if whether an apology has been made PUBLICLY at the government level between the two nations (since I'm proud of the fact I am an American citizen as well!!! dont get that wrong Mr…). People can do a lot of bad evil things, and redo a lot of things….But what matters is a sincere apology publicly for the things that've been done wrong publicly….I don't think that is just my own opinion, it is commanded by God in the Bible (God says "…you must reconcile with your brothers first, then come back to make your sacrifice!!!). How can they (the American government) teach the very things to their citizens which they can never fulfill doing it….?I'm not bashing America, but rather I'm pointing out the things that can be done to improve the conditions…I'm not debating which countries did what things harmful to Vietnam in the past, I'm only debating what I've known and seen from America ( since again, I'm an American, I'm quite concerned over certain things and I have all the right to voice what I don't agree and what I think it should change…) You know why "sincere apology" needed? I let you figure it out….And finally I'm not debating whether the Vietnam Communist Government has been wrong in exploiting that cause for money….You can be right on that….and that is not an issue being brought forth and discussed here….(I don't think you really get the picture between America and Communist Vietnam, you think there is such a Communist Vietnam….don't read historical books alone….but do read a lot of them, study them, live in the country, observe, and analyze them ok….perhaps finally you got an overall picture, and it makes sense….But what we can do at this point here, bring the best out of ourselves to do what we can with what we have on our plates…(I'm still struggling and figuring out myself in this regard to see what I can do). Where are you currently living? Bye bye see ya!!!!

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000805702568 Calvin Hue Quach

    All of you should never talk about the past, if China did not support goods and military supplies, yall north VN would not have a chance to unite the South Vietnam together. Don't u all know that over 150,000 of unclassified soldiers from China died fou you. China don't want to lose face during chairman Mao and in 1979, Ding's Administration of China taught Vietnam a valuable lession because VN invaded Cambodia. Due to the United Nation, the worldwide against China because of business sanction. That's why, China pulled back from North Vietnam. If Chairman Ding decided to fight all the way, VN wouldn't have a chance to win the war.There are no win for any wars period!300,000 Republic of Vietnam soldiers plus died50,000 U.S soldiers plus died450,000 VietCong soldiers plus died1.2 million civilians died North and VietnameseKorean, Japanese, Laos, Cambodie, New Zealand and the France I prefer not to discuss…………!U.S is not totally christian country, due to freedom of religions, I truely think the Jewiesh religions is the most powerful one in congress both house representatives and senates. Why U.S still support Irseall??? and against the Pallestain Hello Vietnam R U wake up yet? Please look the the big picture~~~~

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=685124542 Phuong Vu

    Echoing Karen, Much appreciation to Ford Foundation and those involved. I'd love to hear anyone's personal experiences with this. Please share because this will give me and many others great inspirations. Thanks.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=523324778 Nhung Phan

    Thank you for posting this awareness.

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