Strict lockdown measures applied to respond to the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding southern provinces have disproportionately impacted the livelihoods of millions of internal migrants working in factories as well as in the informal sector.

Employment suspension combined with the high living cost in urban areas has pushed thousands of people to the brink of poverty. Many chose to return to their homes in the central provinces, with no prospect of immediate recovery from the public health crisis. The number of returnees far exceeded the existing capacities of receiving provinces, raising concerns for further spread of the coronavirus as well as increased socio-economic risks and challenges. Local authorities of Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh, Nghe An and Ha Tinh estimated that more than 65,000 people had returned with heightened vulnerabilities and thus require urgent relief to resettle into the communities of origin.

Through an emergency grant, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) extended its support to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to strengthen COVID-19 response in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh while providing emergency assistance to the returning migrants and their families.

“This is a part of our efforts to strengthen the economic and social resilience of Vietnamese migrant workers affected by COVID-19,” said the Country Director of KOICA in Viet Nam Cho Han Deok. Through the “Agenda for building resilience against COVID-19 through development cooperation” (ABC Program), KOICA will provide extensive support to the Vietnamese government to overcome challenges posed by the health crisis. 

“The recent country-wide pandemic resurgence that resulted in more than 800,000 cases and 20,000 deaths in Viet Nam brought a big challenge, especially for the central provinces to control further virus transmission while safely receiving thousands of returnees. This timely support from KOICA will reinforce IOM’s efforts to enhance local capacities to effectively respond to COVID-19 and protect migrants in vulnerable situations,” said IOM Chief of Mission Park Mi Hyung.

KOICA’s financial contribution will support IOM’s ongoing efforts to assist the frontline workers in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh with more than 20,000 personal protective equipment and essential items and provide emergency assistance to about 1,500 households of return migrant workers in vulnerable situations.

For more information, please contact Doyen Yun, Head of Projects and Partnerships, IOM Viet Nam, at dyun@iom.int.