Delegates at the VAVA Congress in Hanoi on December 29, 2023. (Photo: VNA)

Mr. Chinh is former political commissar of the Defense Ministry’s General Department of Technology. The congress also agreed that former Vice State President Nguyen Thi Binh will continue serving as the association’s honorary president in the new term.

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Mass Mobilization Commission, Bui Thi Minh Hoai said that every year, the State allocates billions of USD to support Agent Orange/Dioxin (AO) victims, and geographical areas affected by the toxic chemical. However, social policies have not fully addressed the adverse impact of AO on the environment and human health.

VAVA and the entire society need to continue to “jointly ease the pain of Agent Orange” and help victims overcome difficulties and integrate into the community, she said.

“VAVA's new leadership should continue to ensure that all activities stem from the aspirations and legitimate rights and interests of Agent Orange victims, helping them integrate step by step into the community and achieve a standard of living equivalent to the local average,” said Ms. Hoai.

Over the last 5 years, VAVA has raised more than 93 million USD to support AO victims including the building of nearly 4,000 houses, provision of scholarships, free medical check-ups and medicine.

From 1961 to 1971, the US army sprayed more than 80 million liter of herbicides, 44 million of which were AO containing dioxin, over southern Vietnam. As a result, around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical.