Social issues in Vietnam

Last updated

The primary social issues in Vietnam are rural and child poverty.

Contents

Vietnam scores 37.6 in the Gini coefficient index, with the top 10% accounting for 30.2% of the nation’s income and the bottom 10% receiving 3.2%. In 2008, 14% of the population lives below the national poverty line of US$1.15 per day. [1]

Rural poverty


Poverty rate by rural-urban residence, 1993-2004 (percent) [2]
1993199820022004
Rural66.445.535.625
Urban25.19.26.63.6

Gross Domestic Product grew at an average of 7.5% from 2000-2008. The country was able to reduce poverty fate from 58.1% in the 1990s to 14% in 2008. [3] While the country grows and overall poverty drops, urban dwellers benefitted more than their rural counterparts and a wide income disparity grew between the rich and poor. The regions with the highest relative poverty include the north-west, north-central, central highlands, central coast and north-east. [4]

These regions do not offer the resources to conduct agricultural activities, the main source of income. The poorest rural people live in remote areas with small plots of low quality land that is unsuitable for farming. Similarly, people living along the coastline are faced with harsh climate conditions that restrict farming.

Child Poverty


Child Poverty rate in Vietnam, 1993-2004 (percent) [2]
1993199820022004
Child Poverty Rate65.246.436.426.7
National Poverty Rate58.137.928.919.5

Child poverty declined from 65.2% in the 1993 to 26.7% in 2004. [5] The Survey on Household Living Standards data set from 2008 showed that 1 in 3 children in Vietnam is poor. Despite the drop, child poverty remains much higher than the national poverty rate. Many children lack access to the basic necessities of food, water, education and sanitation. This is especially so in rural areas. [6]

The government and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) developed a multidimensional approach to tackle child poverty. [7] “If children grow up in poverty, they are more likely to be poor in adulthood as well. Reducing child poverty will, therefore, not only improve children’s lives today, but also contribute to reducing adult poverty in the long run”. [7] stated Jesper Morch, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme poverty</span> Condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs

Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty</span> Lack of financial assets or possessions

Poverty is a state or condition in which one lacks the financial resources and essentials for a certain standard of living. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: absolute poverty compares income against the amount needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter; relative poverty measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from one society to another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour</span> Exploitation of children through work

Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide, although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of work undertaken by Amish children, as well as by indigenous children in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty threshold</span> Minimum income deemed adequate to live in a specific country or place

The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for the average adult. The cost of housing, such as the rent for an apartment, usually makes up the largest proportion of this estimate, so economists track the real estate market and other housing cost indicators as a major influence on the poverty line. Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. The poverty threshold may be adjusted annually. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnam</span> Country in Southeast Asia

Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of 331,212 square kilometres (127,882 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. Vietnam shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street children</span> Homeless children living on the street

Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers use UNICEF's concept of boys and girls, aged under 18 years, for whom "the street" has become home and/or their source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised. Street girls are sometimes called gamines, a term that is also used for Colombian street children of either sex.

In economics, a cycle of poverty or poverty trap is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to persist unless there is outside intervention. It can persist across generations, and when applied to developing countries, is also known as a development trap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty reduction</span> Measures to reduce poverty permanently

Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child poverty</span> Children living in poverty

Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It's estimated that 1 billion children lack at least one essential necessity such as housing, regular food, or clean water. Children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as adults and the poorest children are twice as likely to die before the age of 5 compared to their wealthier peers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Measuring poverty</span> Overview about the measure of poverty

Poverty is measured in different ways by different bodies, both governmental and nongovernmental. Measurements can be absolute, which references a single standard, or relative, which is dependent on context. Poverty is widely understood to be multidimensional, comprising social, natural and economic factors situated within wider socio-political processes. The capabilities approach argues that capturing the perceptions of poor people is fundamental to understanding poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coffee production in Vietnam</span>

Coffee production has been a major source of income for Vietnam since the early 20th century. First introduced by the French in 1857, the Vietnamese coffee industry developed through the plantation system, becoming a major economic force in the country. After an interruption during and immediately following the Vietnam War, production rose once again after Đổi mới economic reforms, making coffee second only to rice in value of agricultural products exported from Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Namibia floods</span>

The 2008 Namibia floods took place in early February 2008, a rapid onset of heavy rains triggered floods in northern Namibia, leading to one of its worst floods in 50 years. The floods had killed 42 people by early March and an estimated 65,000 people were affected, primarily in the regions of Omusati, Oshikoto, Oshana, Ohangwena and Caprivi. 40,000 people were assisted by the Namibian Red Cross with 4,600 in relocation camps. Over-crowding and insanitary conditions caused health concerns in relocation camps and an outbreak of cholera was announced in March. On 14 March, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs triggered the International Charter for "Space and Major Disasters". Staple crops were devastated and 52,000 people from flood-affected areas were considered in need of immediate of assistance to cover their basic food needs. Deputy Prime Minister Libertine Amathila declared that the government would spend 65 million Namibian dollars to assist the displaced. Long-term impacts included damage to farmland, housing, schools, roads and infrastructure across the region. The floods reduced the resilience of the population who were left vulnerable to further flooding which occurred in 2009.

Rural poverty refers to poverty in rural areas, including factors of rural society, rural economy, and political systems that give rise to the poverty found there. Rural areas, because of their spread-out populations, typically have less well maintained infrastructure and a harder time accessing markets, which tend to be concentrated in population centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in India</span> Child labour

A significant proportion of children in India are engaged in child labour. In 2011, the national census of India found that the total number of child labourers, aged [5–14], to be at 10.12 million, out of the total of 259.64 million children in that age group. The child labour problem is not unique to India; worldwide, about 217 million children work, many full-time.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in Vietnam and other developing countries. IFAD supports more than 200 ongoing programmes and projects around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in the Philippines</span>

According to official government statistics, in 2021, the Philippines had a poverty rate of 18.1%,, significantly lower than the 49.2 percent recorded in 1985 through years of government poverty reduction efforts. From 2018 to 2021, an estimated 2.3 million Filipinos fell into poverty amid the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in Vietnam</span> Overview of poverty in Vietnam

Until the 1920s, most of the Vietnamese population lived under the poverty line. This was due to a number of reasons, which was a result from years as a French colony, the Japanese occupation of Vietnam, the Vietnam-American War, and further conflicts within Mainland Southeast Asia. Continuous conflicts from 1887 to 1991, more than 100 years of instability had left Vietnam a war-torn country that was prone severe floods from typhoons, rising sea levels, as well as the so-called "flood season" from seasonal monsoons, as well as the effects of climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child labour in Nigeria</span>

Child labour in Nigeria is the employment of children under the age of 18 in a manner that restricts or prevents them from basic education and development. Child labour is pervasive in every state of the country. In 2006, the number of child workers was estimated at about 15 million. Poverty is a major factor that drives child labour in Nigeria. In poor families, child labour is a major source of income for the family.

Cura del Popolo is an Italian non-profit association operating in Vietnam, in the city of Da Nang. Founded in 2002 by Italian doctor, Enzo Falcone, and his wife, Luu Thi Minh Tam, Cura del Popolo focuses on assisting disadvantaged families, in particular women and children.

In Afghanistan, poverty is widespread in rural and urban areas. However, it has been estimated that poverty in Afghanistan is mainly concentrated in rural areas. It has been estimated that four out of five poor people live in rural areas. In these rural areas, families without enough access to adequate nutrition see many infants and children become stunted, malnourished, and die each year. The regions in Afghanistan where almost half of the inhabitants are poor are the East, Northeast, and West-Central regions. According to the Afghan government's estimates, 42 percent of the Afghanistan's total population lives below the poverty line. Also, 20 percent of people living just above the poverty line are highly vulnerable to falling into poverty.

References

  1. Worldbank Data-Vietnam.Retrieved on 12 February 2012
  2. 1 2 VLSS 1992/93, 1997/98; VHLSS 2002, 2004
  3. UN-Vietnam-Basic Statistics.Retrieved on 12 February 2012.
  4. World Bank-Rural Poverty in Viet Nam.Retrieved on 12 February 2012.
  5. Nguyen, Ngoc P. "Childhood Poverty in Vietnam: A Review" (PDF). Young Lives. Oxford Department of International Development. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. UNICEF-Child Poverty in East Asia and Pacific.Retrieved on 13 February 2012.
  7. 1 2 Hung, Dr. "New approach to child poverty developed for Viet Nam". The United Nations in Viet Nam. Retrieved 2019-01-06.