Oxfam's work in Vietnam in depth

In Vietnam, Oxfam's focus is on education, sustainable livelihoods, gender equality, disaster preparedness, and climate change adaptation.

The context

After many years of institutional and economic reform, Vietnam has recently achieved solid economic growth. Poverty has decreased from 58% in 1993 to 19% in 2004.  The proportion of poor people therefore is now little more than one third of what it was 11 years ago.

On average, over the past 15 years 6,000 people (from a population of 84 million in 2007) have moved out of poverty every day.  However, significant numbers of Vietnamese people still live in great hardship. The latest estimates suggest that in late 2006 around 13.5 million people were still living in poverty in Vietnam, with between five and six million unable to even be sure of a meal a day. 

There is a clear contrast between the impressive achievements in reducing economic poverty and the absence of striking increases in overall inequality, especially with regards to ethnic minority people.  Though accounting for only 14% of the total population, ethnic minorities now constitute 39% of the poor.

Gender inequality has been improving in general although the situation among ethic minority and rural women still lags behind.   Further sustained effort and societal change is needed to achieve progress.

Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world. The government's impressive achievements in pulling millions of people out of poverty are seriously jeopardised by increases in extreme weather events such as severe rainfall and drought, and by slow climate changes such as sea level rises and warming temperatures. Poor men and women are particularly at risk.

How is Oxfam helping?

Since the opening of Oxfam’s office in Hanoi in 1990, Oxfam has been worked closely with communities, the government, and other non government organisations in rural livelihoods and infrastructure, education, disaster management, and national level social and economic policy change.

Education

In remote areas of Vietnam, ethnic minority H'mong children often lose out when it comes to receiving an education. Only 41% of H'mong children enroll in primary school, and 95%  of women from ethnic minorities aged 15-25 are illiterate.

Oxfam works with ethnic minority communities to highlight the value of schooling, especially for girls. We also train core groups of teachers in special child-centred teaching methods who then pass this knowledge on to other teachers in their schools.  At the same time, we advocate with provincial and national government to adopt the idea and replicate pilot projects to benefit all children.

Natural disasters and climate change

Oxfam works with local communities and governments to reduce people’s vulnerability to natural disasters, including those brought about by climate change, by enhancing disaster risk reduction and coping strategies in poor communities. We also respond to emergencies in a humanitarian capacity, as we did in 2009 when Typhoon Ketsana battered the country.

We are currently supporting communities in Vietnam to plant dense mangroves along the coast to diffuse tropical storm waves. We are, however, assessing longer-term needs with regards to reducing the risk of climate change-related disasters, by looking at recommendations around adaptation, community-based planning, and awareness and capactity-building to help people be prepared in the event of natural disasters such as floods, typhoons and droughts.

Sustainable livelihoods

Many farmers in rural Vietnam have limited access to the land and resources they need to make a living.  Oxfam ensures their food and income security by improving access to natural resources and marketplaces.

We provide training to farmers to help them learn the latest agricultural techniques. We also help communities form local farmers’ groups as a forum for people to share good farming practices, farming tips, and information.

Advocacy

Oxfam lobbies the government to include and increase participation of all citizens, especially those marginalised due to ethnicity/gender/geography, in their development and policy planning and implementation.  

We raise awareness of citizen’s rights with local government, civil society groups and communities.  At the same time we aim to empower ethnic minorities to have their say in decisions and plans that affect them, especially those that shift the balance of power between men and women. 

 

Last updated: December 2009