Supporting the Government of Viet Nam in Strengthening Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response for Vietnamese Migrants Abroad and Potential Migrants
Duration: August 2020 – August 2022
Location: Viet Nam
Donor/Funding source: IOM Development Fund
Implementing partners: General Office for Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health, National Migrant Health Working Group, and Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Viet Nam Association for Manpower Supply, NGOs, CSOs, and Academia.
Objectives: To contribute to effective public health emergency preparedness and response by the Government of Viet Nam along the mobility continuum.
Brief description of project:
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that an outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) constituted a pandemic. Migrants face the same health threats from COVID-19 as host populations, but the pandemic and diverging measures and impacts on mobility increase the vulnerability of migrants during their journey.
The Ministry of Health (MOH), Viet Nam, has committed to implementing Resolution 70.15 on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, which was endorsed by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2017. The Vietnamese government also plays an important role in providing consular support to their citizens abroad during public health crises.
General Office for Population and Family Planning (GOPFP), MOH as a leading agency in coordination with IOM implements the IDF project with the aim to support the Government of Viet Nam in the development of policies and guidelines fo promoting the health of Vietnamese migrants abroad during public health emergencies; to support Vietnamese migrants abroad especially those in Japan, Republic of Korea and Taiwan Province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Project activities and its impacts:
Main project activities include conducting research among Vietnamese labour migrants living in Japan and ROK and recent returnees from these two countries and Taiwan Province of PRC; developing a gender-sensitive handbook for ensuring the health of overseas Vietnamese labour migrants and organizing seminars for recruitment agencies about how toprotect and navigate overseas Vietnamese labour migrants with the handbook in public health emergency situations.
The results of the study will inform and sensitize the Vietnamese government and relevant stakeholders to design evidence-based interventions for ensuring the health of Vietnamese citizens living abroad during public health crises in line with SDG 3. Good health and well-being. This project also contributes to the development of a ten-year national action plan on migrant health in Viet Nam.
