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HA NOI — Victims of Agent Orange, a chemical herbicide sprayed over wide swathes of southern Viet Nam by US forces during the American War, could receive more financial support from the State, under new proposals from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The ministry has suggested increasing the number of people who qualify to receive payments, as well as raising the amount paid to each victim.

An official from the ministry’s social protection department, Ho Xuan Lai, said his department had also proposed that the State give special assistance to households which have at least two members bed-ridden as a result of the dioxin-laden herbicide.

"The support can range from VND200,000 to VND400,000," Lai said.

Under the new proposals, the State budget would allocate VND355.4 billion (US$22.93 million) annually for Agent Orange victims from 2004.

But the Ministry of Finance said the proposals, which would increase the number of beneficiaries to 173,000 from 110,000 now, and raise the monthly sum paid to each person to VND85,000-350,000 from the current VND48,000-100,000, would surpass the amount allocated in the State budget.

Between 1965 and 1970, US forces sprayed 19 million gallons of the herbicide over the forests of southern Viet Nam in an attempt to expose enemy troops.

The Government decided in 2000 to give preferential assistance to those people — mostly war veterans — disabled by the chemical poison.

Lai said the increase in assistance was now needed because the victims faced great hardship.

"Income is especially limited for families with two disabled victims, because they need at least one other family member to care for them," Lai said. "Furthermore, the value of the Government’s financial support has fallen in real terms since the decision to support them began."

The director of the National Protection Fund for Agent Orange Victims, Le Ke Son, said only 10 per cent of those people disabled by the herbicide received assistance from the State.

"Incomplete statistics show that there are over 1 million victims of the dioxin nationwide, including second and third generation victims," Son said.

He said the criteria used by the State to define Agent Orange victims were too narrow, and should include those people working and living in areas poisoned by the dioxin.

"Proper preferential policies should be given to them as soon as possible," Son said. — VNS