Agent Orange in Vietnam Program
Agent Orange in Vietnam Program
Recommendations for Addressing Agent Orange in Vietnam
The below are the Aspen Institute Agent Orange in Vietnam Program's recommendations to the U.S. Administration and Government of Vietnam to implement commitments to clean up and support of communities affected by Agent Orange in Vietnam:
Recommendations to the U.S. Administration
- The Government of Vietnam’s National Action Plan should be part of the on-going official dialogue on Agent Orange. The U.S. government should respond with written comments on the Plan as well as publish its own strategic plan for a multi-year effort on Agent Orange, as called for by Congress. This document could offer a framework for the contributions of other donors and become the basis for closer cooperation with the Government of Vietnam and Vietnamese nongovernmental organizations.
- USAID should prioritize the heavily sprayed provinces, as called for by Congress. Design and implement a health/disability program with Vietnamese local government and nongovernmental organizations in the eight heavily sprayed provinces around Da Nang (Quang Nam, Thua-Thien-Hue, Quang Tri and Da Nang) and Bien Hoa (Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh).
- The State Department should seek out and actively encourage other bilateral donors as well as American and other foreign corporations in Vietnam to support health/disability projects through their development assistance and corporate philanthropy programs.
- After nearly six years of appropriations for Agent Orange work in Vietnam the Congress should review progress and assess results.
Recommendations to the Government of Vietnam
- Consolidate existing information on people with disabilities, their situations and their needs, for every district and province, beginning with the heavily sprayed provinces. Make it available to donors to inform decisions on programs and the overall levels of required resources.
- Request the U.S. government to work with Committee 33 and the Ministry of Defense to assess and clean up the remaining smaller dioxin hotspots in Vietnam over the next 2-3 years. This goal can be accomplished at the same time that the U.S. and Vietnam are remediating the major dioxin hotspots at Da Nang and Bien Hoa at little additional cost.
- Publish an annual report of expenditures on dioxin remediation, social services and allowances for people with disabilities, including those impacted by dioxin, and related costs. Such information would highlight the Vietnamese government’s leading role in addressing these challenges and would help encourage a more generous response from U.S. policymakers.
- Bring the Agent Orange issue before the annual meeting of the official Vietnam Development Forum (formerly the Consultative Group on Official Development Assistance) to call for donors’ support for health/disabilities projects in their on-going programs of development assistance.


