President Clinton meets with Red Cross in Vietnam
18 November 2000

US President Bill Clinton met privately with Red Cross officials on Saturday during his historic visit to Vietnam. The president discussed humanitarian issues with Professor Nguyen Trong Nhan, president of the Vietnam Red Cross, Tim McCully, Asia programmes manager of the American Red Cross, and John Geoghegan, head of delegation for the International Federation in Vietnam, as well as a group of young Red Cross volunteers and staff.

President Clinton congratulated the Red Cross on its work in Vietnam, which includes a US$10 million relief and rehabilitation programme which has helped 900,000 of the country's poorest people hit by disasters over the past year.

The President viewed images of severe flooding in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, where the Red Cross has been active most recently, bringing immediate relief to over 650,000 people hit by this disaster. He learned that 3,000 "stronger" houses, which will help the poorest families resist future floods, will soon be built. The Vietnam Red Cross has already built 7,400 such houses in the past year for victims of other flood disasters in central Vietnam.

This work is being achieved with the support of the US Government, the American Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. These partners also assisted the Vietnam Red Cross in its investment in disaster preparedness programmes in Vietnam, and its community-based health and social work activities, which touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. President Clinton gave a special greeting to the volunteers and staff from the Hanoi region of the Vietnam Red Cross.

The Vietnam Red Cross thanked President Clinton for the US$3 million provided by the US Government, and USAID in particular. Professor Nhan also thanked the American Red Cross and the US business community who together have contributed over US$4 million in the past year, and presented President Clinton with the Vietnam Red Cross Memorial Medal. "I am honoured," said Mr Clinton.

The Red Cross representatives also encouraged President Clinton to consider the plight of the many disabled children in Vietnam today, some of whom are believed to suffer as a result of Agent Orange, a defoliant used during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. The Red Cross is working on a local level to improve their living conditions and to provide other vital social support.

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

Hanoi: John Geoghegan, head of delegation, tel. +84 91 223425 (ifrchod@hn.vnn.vn)
           Tim McCully, American Red Cross, tel. +84 91 506582

Bangkok: Omar Valdimarsson, Regional information delegate, tel.. +662 661 6933/+66 1 823 9218

Geneva: Media Service, tel. +41 79 416 3881

The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.