YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
What Can Be Done
Much more help is needed for Vietnam veterans and their families…
The Time To Act Is Now
It has been 45 years since the end of the Vietnam War and 25 years since Vietnam and the United States normalized relations…
We Know What To Do
1) Clean contaminated soils and restore damaged ecosystems, 2) expand services to people with disabilities and their families.
We Need Your Help
Over the next decade, concentrated effort can ensure that this lasting ghost of the war in Vietnam is finally put to rest…
A Humanitarian Need
It is simply a humanitarian need, to restore hope and dignity to a devastated people and end the legacies of war.
It has been 45 years since the U.S. war in Vietnam ended and 25 since full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam were normalized. Recent progress towards a more cooperative relationship between both countries has created a window of opportunity for humanitarian and environmental intervention in addressing the consequences of wartime use of chemical herbicides
Now is the time for the U.S. to intensify its shared commitment to reduce the public health impact of Dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange in Vietnam, to increase services to those affected and address environmental impacts.
More help is still needed for those also affected by Agent Orange in Laos and Cambodia, as well as for Vietnam veterans and their families in the U.S. and elsewhere. Even more help is still needed to contain and clean up Dioxin hotspots to protect the health of new generations and the environment.
> We ask the U.S. government to join the Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian governments and others, and nongovernmental entities, to remediate toxic hotspots and expand services to people with disabilities or illnesses associated with exposure to Agent Orange-Dioxin.
> We ask the U.S. government to do more for our own soldiers and their families—to identify conditions associated with exposure and to provide timely health care and benefits.
> We ask the U.S. government to share with the government’s of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia all of the information they have on the use of herbicides during the U.S. war, including information that is still classified.
> We ask everyone, no matter where they are, to join in ending the toxic legacy of Agent Orange.
1. Clean contaminated soils and restore damaged ecosystems.
The most vulnerable areas, the Dioxin hot spots, have been identified. With additional resources, the extent of contamination can be precisely determined, and a remediation plan can be developed and carried out.
> Current priority is the clean-up of the Bien Hoa Airbase: an estimated $500 million is needed.
> Other hotspots can be further examined, other local people can be educated to avoid exposure.
> Defoliated lands that have poor quality forests can be reforested, diversified or repurposed to ensure the optimum future use of such lands.
2. Expand services to people with disabilities and their families.
Services now reach less than 10 percent of those in need in Vietnam. The most needy live in rural areas. But with more financial and human resources, services for the affected people can be expanded. We are just learning the extent of the impacts in Laos and Cambodia.
> Medical and mental health professionals, teachers, and caregivers can be trained to ensure the best care possible for those in need.
> More rehabilitation centers and respite centers can be built and staffed by trained caregivers in affected areas, especially in more rural areas.
> Community-based rehabilitation programs can be expanded to reach those in need at their homes.
> Early detection and early intervention programs can be developed to give children services shortly after birth or when disability first emerges.
3. Research the health and epigenetic impacts of Agent Orange-Dioxin.
Recent work on epigenetic studies in animals has shown that dioxin has generational impacts on health as well as induce congenital malformations. More needs to be understood on how humans may be impacted.
> Funding needs to be allocated to help conduct and advance further studies.
> Epidemiological studies of Children of U.S. Vietnam Veterans and their children need to be conducted.
> Epidemiological studies in Vietnam and other exposed populations should also be conducted.
Over the next decade, concentrated effort will require a partnership among government and non-governmental groups, private citizens and public institutions, professionals and volunteers, corporations and non-profits, U.S. Veterans and Vietnamese, and most of all, with you.
This is not a question of who is responsible, legally or morally.
It is simply a humanitarian need, to restore hope and dignity to a devastated people and end the legacies of war.
But it’s not just the U.S. Government that has a role to play in repairing the damages caused by Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides. We all must play a part in ending this toxic legacy.