Ha Noi, 22 May 2019 –Today, on the occasion of Viet Nam's natural disaster prevention day, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency (Ministry of Construction) announced the launch of a resilient house design competition. The competition aims to find storm and flood resilient home designs at low costs.

The competition is one of the initiatives of the project "Improving the resilience of vulnerable coastal communities to climate change related impacts in Viet Nam" funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Construction.

The house is considered the most valuable asset of the local people, but also most vulnerable to climate change. In 2018 alone, more than 31,000 houses were flooded and damaged by natural disasters in Viet Nam.

“For the poor people, whenever the rainy and storm season approaches, in addition to the concern about livelihoods and food, the place to stay becomes a greater concern for the whole family before any natural disaster hits their locality, along with the safety of the elderly and children," said Tran Quang Hoai, Director General of Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority.

Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam highlighted “This competition is especially important to raise awareness on the importance of storm resilient housing, and motivate architects, students, and development practitioners, to innovate and contribute to provide environmentally friendly designs at low costs to apply to the future government’s resilient housing programs”.

The competition is held from May 22, 2019 to October 13, 2019. Participants include architects, engineers and students of universities specialized in architecture and construction nationwide. Information will be posted at: http://gcfundp-coastalresilience.com.vn/ and fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/vungvenbienvabiendoikhihau/

For more information, please kindly contact:
Phan Huong Giang
Climate Change & Environment Media and Communications Analyst
United Nations Development Programme
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org; Mob: 0948466688

Vu Thai Truong
Programme Management Specialist
United Nations Development Programme
Email: vu.thai.truong@undp.org; Mob: 0913082727