Red Cross convenes 8th congress

15:45' 01/07/2007 (GMT+7)

President Triet (second from right) stresses that humanitarian activities should be linked with socio-economic development task. VietNamNet Bridge - President Nguyen Minh Triet has applauded the Vietnam Red Cross Society’s (VNRC) work in aiding the country's disadvantaged, ethnic minorities and natural disaster and Agent Orange (AO) victims. The President made the comment while addressing the eighth national congress of the VNRC, in Hanoi, on June 29, where Tran Ngoc Tang was elected as the new VNRC President for the 2007- 2011 term. Over the past seven years, the VNRC poured more than VND 550 billion (US $34.3 million) into hundreds of humanitarian projects to help poor people, Agent Orange/ Dioxin victims, orphans and disadvantaged people in mountainous regions nationwide, including a VND 3 trillion (US $187.5 million) package that was used to aid more than 600,000 households escape poverty, provide vocational training to 40,000 physically challenged and repaired and built 20,000 houses for the poor. More than 330,000 AO victims received free surgery and physical rehabilitation therapy and were granted loans to develop business or production, a further 15 million people were given free medical treatment and close to 20,000 HIV/AIDS suffers were cared for. The congress that was also meeting to review work from 2001-2007, also commended prominent humanitarian activists and organisations in the country as well as local and foreign donors, international organisations and International Federation of Red Cross members for their continued support and assistance to the country. (Source: Viet Nam Net)