which began in 1974, and to meeting specific needs related to permanent settlement for which no other adequate source of aid was available. As in 1976, UNHCR'S assistance was focused on needs in the most devastated provinces: Nghe Tinh, Binh Tri-Thien, Dong Nai, Song Be and Tay Ninh.
206. Agricultural assistance again figured prominently in UNHCR's activities in Viet Nam. With the help of the Indian Red Cross, 180 Murrah buffaloes were provided for the establishment of a buffalo breeding farm in the Nghe Tinh province. The farm is intended to help restore food production, breed buffaloes for traction and serve as a training centre. Elsewhere additional agricultural machinery was made available by UNHCR to facilitate the rehabilitation of displaced persons in rural areas. Continued assistance was also made available to a poultry- breeding farm at the Tuy Phuong Agricultural Centre at Chem near Hanoi, designed not only as a production unit but also as a training centre.
207. In view of the importance of fishing as a means of livelihood in Viet Nam, further assistance was again provided by UNHCR to assist displaced persons in the coastal areas, particularly in Minh Hai and Say Ky. The assistance took the form of supplies of equipment.
208. Needs of an emergency nature which UNHCR was asked to help meet in 1977 included further supplies of shelter material, clothing and medical equipment. Urgent supplies of food were also required in view of the serious shortage which occurred in 1977 resulting from the post-war conditions in the country combined with unfavourable weather. Needs were most acute in the Nghe Tinh province, where displaced persons constitute 75 per cent of the population. These needs were met through generous contributions in kind, made available in response to the High Commissioner's request.
209. UNHCR's expenditures for assistance in Viet Nam totalled nearly $3,475,000 in 1977, including $1,415,000 for assistance towards the rehabilitation of displaced fishermen, $590,300 for agricultural assistance and $500,000 for constructing and equipping hospitals and dispensaries.
5. Other countries and areas in Asia
210. In the period under review, UNHCR faced a continued need to provide humanitarian assistance to thousands of Indo-Chinese displaced persuns, who were uprooted from their homes following the events of recent years in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. This assistance has been provided under a Special Programme designed to meet immediate needs of care and maintenance and to promote suitable longer-term solutions, in co-operation with Governments concerned and with intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
211. In this context, the problem of displaced persons arriving by boat in various countries bordering the South China Sea has continued to receive special attention. Protection aspects of this problem have been considered in chapter I of this report under the section headed "Principles of protection and refugee rights". By the end of 1977 the number of these displaced persons had reached some 15,500, including those rescued by passing ships. Thanks to the opportunities generously made available by Governments in response to the High Commissioner's appeals for permanent resettlement, the majority of them were able to leave for third countries by 31 December 1977. The remaining caseload, for whom opportunities were still being sought, numbered 4,250 at the end of the year.
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