UNICEF Reaches Children in Vietnam With Urgent Aid After Typhoon Yagi
UNICEF is working with the Government of Vietnam to deliver WASH supplies, education materials, lifesaving nutrition support, health guidance and more to children and families caught in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi.
The strongest storm to hit Vietnam in decades, Typhoon Yagi made landfall on Sept. 7, 2024, devastating communities across 26 provinces, impacting the lives of millions of children and families.
Severe storm damage, flash floods and landslides, along with torrential rains and wind speeds surpassing 135 miles per hour cut off access to safe water, sanitation, health care and education.
I don't remember anything about the flood. I don't know where my mom is. — Hoang Ngoc Lan, 6
In Lao Cai province, the powerful storm tore apart 6-year-old Hoang Ngoc Lan's world, destroying her family's home and claiming the lives of her parents and brothers.
"I don't remember anything about the flood," Hoang Ngoc Lan says quietly. "I don't know where my mom is. I miss her. My mom, my dad and my brothers ... they all died in the flood." Lan is living with her grandmother now, but not every child has family members they can turn to.
Cross-sectoral interventions and early recovery efforts
Just days after the typhoon made landfall in northern Vietnam, UNICEF's emergency response teams were on the ground assessing the scale of the destruction as part of government-led missions. The need for urgent, lifesaving support was unprecedented.
Initial response efforts focused on the delivery of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) supplies and health and nutrition interventions, as well as ensuring the protection and education of children.
One month on, UNICEF remains on the ground, supporting the Government of Vietnam to restore essential services that children and their families rely on.
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UNICEF's humanitarian impact, by the numbers
To date, UNICEF’s support to the Government’s response includes the delivery of:
- drinking water containers and water purification tablets for 140,000 people (31,462 households) and health facilities like the Lao Cai Provincial General Hospital
- 2,800 water tanks, 2,200 drinking water bottles, 2,000 ceramic filters, 20,000 water purification tablets, 2,700 hand sanitizers and 2,800 bars of soap to more than 24,000 people in Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces
- 12 tons of nutrition treatment products to support local health systems caring for acutely malnourished children under 5 in six provinces. UNICEF also supported the screening of children in 50 districts to diagnose and treat acute malnutrition; supplementary training for local health workers is underway
- 2,800 early childhood education kits for preschool children and 2,900 backpacks containing a notebook and other primary school supplies to keep kids learning
- 140,000 textbooks, in alignment with the national curriculum, along with 3,150 child protection emergency kits and 4,150 learning kits for schools and communes
UNICEF also distributed leaflets sharing guidance covering water treatment, prevention of waterborne diseases, hygiene practices, breastfeeding, prevention of child malnutrition, micronutrient supplementation for pregnant and breastfeeding women, mental health, and drowning and violence prevention.
At least 1,600 households in Lao Cai province will soon receive multipurpose humanitarian cash transfers to help families cover the cost of basic necessities.
Read UNICEF Vietnam's latest Typhoon Yagi situation report.
UNICEF helps communities build resilience
Humanitarian aid delivery continues, but the situation remains critical; 2.65 million children live in the 11 provinces hit hardest by Typhoon Yagi. Vietnam remains highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, facing increasingly frequent, extreme and destructive weather events.
In the weeks and months to come, UNICEF will continue to stand with vulnerable communities in Vietnam, working with the Government to strengthen services and systems, ensuring they are more resilient and responsive to future climate events.
"We thank all our partners and donors who have generously contributed so far," says Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam. "There is much more that needs to happen and to be done so that these communities can rise from the rubble and be able to reconstruct even better than before."
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Learn more about UNICEF and typhoon relief.
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