Ho Van Lai, UXO Victim, warning children at the Mine Risk Education program of ProjectRENEW.
After the Trump regime’s slashing in early February of 90% of funds for USAID (the United States Agency for International Development), Viet Nam saw an abrupt halt to past assistance in such areas as health care, the environment, climate change, disaster relief, and war aftermath alleviation, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pham Thu Hang. Most importantly, the war legacies alleviation included life-saving bomb and mine clearance, plus dioxin remediation – particularly at heavily-contaminated former U.S. bases and airfields in Da Nang and Bien Hoa (outside Sai Gon/Ho Chi Minh City).
Then just as abruptly, AID money was reinstated in late February, but only for explosives clearance and only at nine projects in seven countries: Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Iraq, Peru, Ukraine and Palau.
Veterans For Peace Chapter 160, the Hoa Binh (Peace) chapter in Viet Nam, was especially impacted, as USAID funds were channeled from the U.S. State Department through the Norwegian government’s humanitarian organization NPA – Norwegian People’s Aid, specifically for UXO clearance. An indirect recipient was ProjectRENEW (Restoring the Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War), co-founded in 2001 by a Quang Tri Province official and American veteran Chuck Searcy, president of VFP 160, who lives full time in Ha Noi. Quang Tri Province, hard up against the 17th parallel DMZ, is the most heavily-bombed area of Viet Nam. RENEW also funds wheelchairs and prosthetics for victims of unexploded ordnance, as well as Agent Orange/Dioxin sufferers.
“Efforts are now being made to temporarily resume our mine clearance and other explosive ordnance and munitions handling and destruction activities on the US-funded projects in these seven countries,” Norwegian People’s Aid states. “NPA still does not know what the final outcome of the ongoing evaluation of the United States will be.”
Mr. Hien Xuan Ngo, Communications & Development Manager for ProjectRENEW, stated after the initial halt, “The recent suspension of USAID and Department of State-funded programs globally makes support for vital initiatives like Project RENEW’s Mine Risk Education and Victim Assistance program even more crucial. This support is essential for ensuring the safety of adults and children and promoting the social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. Here, in the photo, Ho Van Lai, who tragically lost three limbs and an eye in a cluster bomb accident at just ten years old, educates local school children about UXO safety as part of Project RENEW’s Mine Risk Education program, funded by the Irish Government.”
Norwegian People’s Aid had previously announced the dismissal of up to 1,700 employees due to the uncertainty surrounding future support for US-funded projects. NPA, “is pleased that there has been a temporary exemption from the freeze for nine projects, but does not yet have complete clarity on how our staffing will be affected by the limited exemption from the funding freeze.”
The post Trump Cuts Aid to Viet Nam, Then Restores… Some appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Nadya Williams.
Nadya Williams | Radio Free (2025-03-13T05:54:36+00:00) Trump Cuts Aid to Viet Nam, Then Restores… Some. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/03/13/trump-cuts-aid-to-viet-nam-then-restores-some/
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