Happenings

Ford-funded Group Fighting Effects of Dioxin in Vietnam

The Dialogue Group, a high-level working group of Vietnamese and American leaders funded by the Ford Foundation, is reporting significant progress in the effort to address the legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam.

New Containment Measures at Danang

This lake, at the edge of the airbase at Danang, was once a popular fishing spot for local residents, but dioxin in the sediment has contaminated the food chain. The Dialogue Group works to warn against consuming fish from the lake and reports that the first round of containment measures are now in place in and around Danang Airport, the former American military airbase in central Vietnam.

Observing Progress

Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute and leader of the U.S. delegation to the Dialogue Group, is briefed on dioxin containment work at Danang Airport.

Caring For Affected Children

Madame Ton Nu Thi Ninh, leader of the Vietnamese delegation to the Dialogue Group, visits children at a care center in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City. Dioxin is believed to be related to birth defects among children of war veterans.

Dialogue Group Promoting a Humanitarian Response

The Dialogue Group, a bipartisan non-governmental initiative launched last year, is supporting a humanitarian response where diplomatic discussion alone has proved difficult. It builds on work done by the Vietnamese, the Ford Foundation in Hanoi, as well as the U.S. Department of State and Environmental Protection Agency to address dioxin containment throughout Vietnam. Ford's support of the Dialogue Group extends our long history of investment in programs around the world that address the ways that the environment affects people's lives and health.

For More Information

A press release issued by the group reports progress on other key goals, including the expansion of services to people with disabilities and key steps toward opening a high-resolution dioxin testing lab.

Visit our Special Initiative on Agent Orange/Dioxin.

---

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.