Dong Nai marks 65th anniversary of the Agent Orange disaster in Vietnam

The Dong Nai City Association for Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin held a ceremony on August 10 to commemorate 65 years of the AO disaster in Vietnam (1961–2026).

Mai Van Nho, Chairman of the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin, speaks at the ceremony. Photo: Van Truyen

The event was attended by Nguyen Tan Phu, Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee; Nguyen Van Dung, Deputy Head of the City Party Committee’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization; representatives of city departments, boards, and agencies; leaders of the Associations for Victims of AO/dioxin from communes and wards; and 30 AO victims representing more than 13,000 victims in the city.

Mai Van Nho, Chairman of the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin, receives a donation plaque from organizations for the association's activities at the ceremony. Photo: Van Truyen

According to Mai Van Nho, Chairman of the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin, nearly 18,000 people in Dong Nai have been recorded as having been exposed to AO. Currently, more than 13,000 AO victims suffer from life-threatening and cruel diseases, while children have been born with deformities and disabilities, with effects extending to subsequent generations.

In recent years, Party committees, authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and mass organizations in the city, together with the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin and various individuals and organizations, have paid great attention to caring for AO victims and their families. To date, nearly 3,300 people who joined the resistance wars and were affected by toxic chemicals along with their children are receiving policy benefits; more than 2,900 civilian AO victims are receiving social benefits; and those directly caring for AO victims also receive monthly state subsidies. Since the beginning of the year, the association has actively mobilized organizations, businesses, and benefactors to join hands in supporting AO victims, with the total value of resources reaching more than 21.5 billion VND.

Nguyen Tan Phu, Vice Chairman of the City Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, on behalf of the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin, presents a token of appreciation to an organization that has made positive contributions to the association's activities. Photo: Van Truyen

According to Mai Van Nho, in the coming period, the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin will focus on comprehensively implementing four key tasks. These include promoting communications and education to deepen awareness among people from all walks of life, especially the younger generation, of the AO disaster and its consequences; strongly innovating and improving the quality of resource management; persistently and actively participating in the fight for justice by closely accompanying the Vietnam Association for Victims of AO/dioxin’s Central Committee in supporting legal activities and victims' lawsuits seeking to hold chemical companies that produced and supplied AO/dioxin for the United States during the war in Vietnam responsible for addressing the consequences; and building a strong and comprehensive system of association organizations at all levels.

Mai Van Nho, Chairman of the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin, and a representative of a sponsor present gifts to AO victims at the ceremony. Photo: Van Truyen

On this occasion, the Dong Nai City Association for Victims of AO/dioxin received donation plaques and expressed its gratitude to individuals and organizations that have made positive contributions to the association's activities. The association also presented gifts to 30 AO victims, with each gift worth 1 million VND.

By Van Truyen – Translated by Minh Hong, Thu Ha