Japanese researcher helps Vietnam tackle AO/dioxin health issues
Japanese researcher helps Vietnam tackle AO/dioxin-related health issues
A Japanese researcher has just announced a project on training Vietnamese health workers in addressing problems related to Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin chemical that was sprayed on the country during the war.
Tokyo (VNA) – A Japanese researcher has justannounced a project on training Vietnamese health workers in addressingproblems related to Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin chemical that was sprayed on thecountry during the war.
Japan's national broadcasting organization NHK quotedProfessor Kido Teruhiko from the Kanazawa University and officials from the JapanInternational Cooperation Agency as saying the project will last for threeyears in the Vietnamese central province of Binh Dinh’s Phu Cat district.
Kido unveiled the detection of a high level of AO/dioxincontained in milk of nursing mothers in the area, adding that the rate of localunderweight children is also high.
As such, he has planned to train the health workers to checkthe dioxin level in breast milk and provide healthcare consultations for localmothers.
The professor is experienced in studying AO/dioxin impact.He hopes to use results of his research to improve the well-being of Vietnamesepeople.
The US army sprayed some 80 million litres of toxicchemicals, 61 percent of which was Agent Orange containing 366 kilograms ofdioxin, over nearly one quarter of the total area of South Vietnam from 1961 to1971.
Preliminary statistics show that 4.8 million Vietnamesepeople were exposed to the toxic, and about 3 million became victims. Tens ofthousands of people have died while millions of others have suffered fromcancer and other incurable diseases as consequences of exposure. Many of theiroffspring have also suffered from birth deformities.-VNA
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Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) 
