Advocacy and Exchange Program on Agent Orange/Dioxin

What's New

February 1, 2008, HANOI, Vietnam. The US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin announced at a press conference in Hanoi that the first round of dioxin containment measures are now in place in and around the Danang airport, one of Vietnam's largest hot spots of dioxin contamination. After a week of visits across the country, the joint high-level group announced progress on this and a number of other priority issues, including the expansion of services to people with disabilities and key steps toward establishing a high-resolution dioxin testing lab. More information.

The Aspen Institute Advocacy and Exchange Program on Agent Orange/Dioxin promotes dialogue within the US policy community, and between the United States and Vietnam, on solutions to the continuing impact of the wartime use of herbicides in Vietnam.

The impact of war can last decades beyond the ceasefire. With support from the Ford Foundation, The Aspen Institute Advocacy and Exchange Program on Agent Orange/Dioxin is a two-year project to help Americans and Vietnamese address the continuing health and environmental impact of herbicides sprayed in Vietnam during the war.

The program takes a two-pronged approach. First, it will promote discussion about dioxin in Vietnam and solutions to stem its continuing impact within the US policy community through meetings and policy briefs.  Catharin Dalpino, Associate Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Georgetown University, will direct the program.

Second, the program will strengthen US-Vietnamese cooperation on this issue by assisting the Aspen Institute US-Vietnam Dialogue on Agent Orange, a binational Track Two effort to the problem of dioxin and help identify resources to mitigate these problems. Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, acts as Chair of the American side of the Dialogue Group. His Vietnamese counterpart is Madame Ton Nu Thi Ninh, who recently retired as Vice Chairwoman of the International Relations Committee of the Vietnamese National Assembly. 

The Dialogue Group was formed during the visit of an Aspen Institute delegation to Vietnam in February 2007. Read William Mayer's article in the Summer 2007 Aspen Idea, "Return to Vietnam."

Contact James Hoppes for additional information on the Advocacy and Exchange Program on Agent Orange/Dioxin.