Addressing negative socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through social protection in Viet Nam
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In late April 2021, Viet Nam faced its fourth wave of COVID-19, with over 895 000 new cases reported (FAO, 2022). COVID-19 and related restrictions hindered livelihood options and vulnerable households faced financial stress to cover basic needs. Some of them lost their income and were unable to return to home villages for a certain period of time. In addition, many people living in vulnerable households did not qualify for government social security assistance.
Dong Nai is among the country’s top three provinces and city areas to be hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic and is home to over 3.2 million people, including more than 1.2 million workers, of which about 720 000 people are migrant workers from other provinces (FAO, 2022). The pandemic put a heavy burden on the provincial welfare and social protection system as hundreds lost their lives, more than 400 000 contracted workers lost their jobs, and many non-contracted workers lost their source of income because of the lockdown and other prevention and control measures (Dong Nai PPC, 2021; FAO, 2022). Additionally, due to travel restrictions, many were unable to return to their home villages and join their support networks. Thus, the intervention sought to sustain livelihoods by helping households cover basic needs during these times of hardship.
Between November and December 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) implemented an intervention in the context of the programme Scaling up Forecast-based Financing/ Early Warning Early Action (FbF/EWEA) and Shock Responsive Social Protection for disaster resilience in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This brief documents the intervention which aimed to help households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions to cover their basic needs, including households already benefiting from existing social assistance and non-beneficiary households. More specifically, it sought to improve food security and prevent vulnerable households from resorting to negative coping mechanisms.