Mobilizing resources for solutions

The Ford Foundation was originally drawn into the challenging subject of Agent Orange/Dioxin (AO/D) because it offered an unusual opportunity to advance human welfare--the rights and opportunities due Vietnamese exposed to chemicals used in a war not of their choosing, and the need for a deeper reconciliation of one time enemies, Vietnam and the US. We have applied two kinds of resources to the AO/D issue--good offices and grant making. These have brought the problem of dioxin into sharper focus. It became defined by facts which gave it a definite size and scope so that solutions become possible to imagine. Major grant making began from February 2006. As of September 2008 the Foundation had made grants totaling some $8 million, primarily to Vietnamese organizations and agencies. The immediate results: The public health and environmental threat has been sharply reduced from dioxin at the north end of the Danang airport and Vietnamese and their partners are building a variety of modern models for health, education and employment services for Vietnamese with disabilities. Adding to budget allocations from the Government of Vietnam, other donors have joined us, so far UNDP, UNICEF, the US government and other bilateral donors and American foundations.