Hanoi art program marks Day for Agent Orange/dioxin Victims
War veterans and their children suffering from dioxin-related conditions receive care from society.
THE HANOI TIMES — An art programme has been held in Hanoi to mark the Day for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin Victims (August 10), calling for continued support for this vulnerable community.
The program featured documentaries and exchanges with victims and their families, offering a stark and moving insight into the devastating legacy of AO.
Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu Chinh, President of the Vietnam Association for Victims of AO/dioxin (VAVA), revealed that millions of Vietnamese were affected by AO, and only some 626,000 are currently receiving state benefits.
A performance at the Hanoi art program in response to Day for Agent Orange/dioxin Victims. Photo: Phunuvietnam.vn
The association urged political and social organizations, citizens at home and abroad, and international friends to keep actively supporting the "action for AO victims" campaign initiated by the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
"The VAVA also calls on the US Government and international organizations to maintain their partnership with Vietnam in addressing the aftermath of chemical warfare and sharing the suffering of the victims," said Chinh.
In 2024 and the first half of 2025, VAVA raised over VND773 billion (US$29.5 million) for livelihood support, rehabilitation services, and gifts during national holidays.
All funds to help AO victims can be transferred directly to account number 1961 of the Vietnam AO/Dioxin Victims Fund at the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB). Donations will be made transparently on the program's website.
On June 25, 2004, representatives from 32 member organizations of the Vietnam Fatherland Front held a conference under the theme “For Vietnamese victims of AO/dioxin”. At the conference, they agreed to select August 10 annually (the first day that the US army sprayed chemicals over South Vietnam in 1961) as the National Day for Vietnamese AO/dioxin Victims.
In the early 1960s, the US army sprayed 80 million liters of AO, containing 366 kilograms of dioxin, over 76.000 square kilometers of southern Vietnam. The devastating impact still lingers, destroying the environment and claiming the lives of many generations of AO victims.
About 4.8 million Vietnamese people have been exposed to AO, and more than three million others who are their second, third, and even fourth generations have still suffered from pains and losses even when the war ended 50 years ago.
Scientists believed that the impact of AO may last for hundreds of years and affect tens of millions of people, and the number of generations suffering from after-effects will not be limited to four, making the AO disaster the worst chemical one in human history.
