The UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency has just provided 5,704 dignity kits to support women and girls at risk of violence in three flood affected central provinces.

At the signing ceremony held on Tuesday in Hanoi, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, Naomi Kitahara, handed over 5,704 dignity kits to Chairman of the Central Committee of Vietnam Farmers’ Union, Thao Xuan Sung, for distribution to women at risk of gender-based violence in three floods-affected provinces, namely Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Nam provinces.

This follows UNFPA’s earlier handover of dignity kits to the Vietnam Farmer’s Union for COVID-19.

The country’s central coastal region has suffered unprecedented flooding from prolonged downpours and successive typhoons since early October, resulting in more than 200 deaths recorded so far, and displacing thousands of people. At least 5.5 million people in the region have been affected, including an estimated 1,343,162 women of reproductive age with 92,075 of them pregnant.

Dignity kits are a signature product of UNFPA’s comprehensive package of humanitarian assistance to safeguard sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, mitigate the risk of gender-based violence, and respond and protect the dignity of women and girls adversely affected by a crisis.

“Preserving dignity is essential to maintain self-esteem and confidence, which is important to cope with in stressful and potentially overwhelming humanitarian situations. A dignity kit comprises the basic items that women and girls need to protect themselves and maintain their basic hygiene, respect, and dignity in the face of crisis,” said the UNFPA Representative in Vietnam at the handover ceremony.

“Ending violence against women and girls should be a priority for everyone. It is about making sure that everyone is part of the country’s sustainable development process, leaving no one behind. We trust the great support from the Vietnam Farmers’ Union in ensuring the distribution of dignity kits to women and girls in the most flood affected areas in central Vietnam, particularly those most left behind,” she added.