SGGP English Edition- US Health Association Call for Compensation to AO Victims

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Friday , Nov 09, 2007, Posted at: 11:27(GMT+7)

US Health Association Call for Compensation to AO Victims

The American Public Health Association (APHA) has adopted a statement calling for the US Government & Chemical Companies' compensation to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange.

Vietnamese AO victims

On November 6, 2007, APHA, the largest public health association in the world, adopted a policy statement calling for US government and the chemical companies involved to provide specified compensation to Vietnamese harmed by the spraying of dioxin laden Agent Orange during the war more than 30 years ago.

The APHA called for compensation to cover medical care and services, development of community support organizations, chronic care and medical equipment. It further asked the US government and involved chemical companies to be responsible to remediate those areas in Viet Nam which still contain high levels of dioxin (the "hot spots").

Mindful of the fact that millions of American veterans of the Viet Nam War and their families still suffer the effects of Agent Orange, the APHA policy statement also recommended that the US government continue to address the enduring psychological and physical health effects of Agent Orange on American veterans.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, a leading clinician/researcher from Viet Nam and the Chairwoman of the Obstetrics & Gynecology Department of the Medical University of Ho Chi Minh City, said "The APHA policy statement will help to accelerate the present cooperation between the US and Viet Nam on remedying the environmental affects of Agent Orange. Three million Vietnamese people are now suffering painful and debilitating effects of Agent Orange and this policy statement will continue to easing their suffering and improve the public health."

Meanwhile, Susan Schnall, a public health expert with the Viet Nam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign and a Viet Nam era Navy veteran, observed that many American veterans will welcome the APHA's statement because they experience firsthand the terrible consequences of exposure to Agent Orange.

“As a health professional who has witnessed the sufferings of both American soldiers and Vietnamese women and children, I believe that the APHA is doing the right thing," she said.

Source: VNA