US Sponsors Forum to Discuss Building Standards for the Handicapped

With support from the United States, Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction recently developed the first draft of "Barrier-free Access Construction Standards" for people with visual and hearing impairments and will be hosting workshops in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City to solicit comments.

 

Sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and in cooperation with Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) and the Ministry of Construction, the workshops will provide a forum for construction companies, provincial construction departments, Ministry officials, and people with disabilities to contribute to the new standards.

 

VNAH worked with the Ministry of Construction in 2002 to ratify construction codes for people with disabilities, but earlier codes focused primarily on people with mobility impairments. As part of the USAID-funded "Inclusion of Vietnamese with Disabilities" project, VNAH hopes to expand the codes to include other impairments. 7 per cent of the population is currently considered disabled.

 

The workshops will be held in Hanoi on August 6, Ho Chi Minh City on August 11, and Hue on August 13. (US Embassry Press Release)