Social Protection
A fair start for every child
- English
- Tiếng Việt
The Challenge
Social protection is an investment in children now and their future prosperity.
An inclusive social protection system strives to ensure every child gets a fair chance in life. It removes economic and social barriers so children can access critical health, education, protection and other services they need to survive, grow and thrive. It is essential, as all children do not benefit from the same good start in life.
Multi-dimensional poverty and inequities are still evident in Viet Nam, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the benefits of rapid economic development in the past two decades not reaching all members of society. This is especially the case for ethnic minority children who fare worse than the rest of the population across virtually every Sustainable Development Goal indicator.
Despite this need, only one-in-10 children and fewer than 1 per cent of those aged under 36 months are eligible for cash transfer support, hampering access to key social services. Nationally, with just 0.04 per cent of gross domestic product allocated for regular cash support to children annually, social assistance policies heavily rely on local revenues. This means only children in better-off cities and provinces can benefit from this much-needed assistance.
The need for fully inclusive social protection coverage is increasingly critical. Climate change and extreme weather events are increasing children’s vulnerability to poverty in all its dimensions and depriving them of services when they need them most.
The Solutions
Social safety nets help ensure an inclusive future for all children.
That is why UNICEF is helping to build a child-sensitive, gender-transformative and shock-responsive social protection system.
Action today is needed for a better tomorrow and to ensure multidimensional poverty, persistent inequities, socio-economic scarring from the pandemic and the climate crisis do not change the course of children’s lives.
To achieve this, we work with the government to generate evidence and share international best practices to realize a social protection system that champions a rights-based and life-cycle approach. By strategically advocating for a universal child grant, starting with under-6 children, we seek to ensure the best start to life for each and every child.
With cash assistance a key to unlocking services for all, we are working to increase the value and coverage of regular payments for families with children, with digitalization as well as sex- and age-disaggregated data to optimize delivery. As effective delivery of cash assistance is especially critical during emergencies, including climate-induced emergencies, UNICEF is helping future proof social protection, so it is also shock-responsive in times of crisis. This will help prevent children from dropping out of school, missing routine health services, skipping meals and being exposed to violence and child exploitation when natural disasters strike.
You can be the change for children!
Help UNICEF provide children and families with critical essential services for health and nutrition, education and protection.
Impact
UNICEF works to help Viet Nam realize a national social protection system that is more inclusive, equitable, gender and child-sensitive, and shock-responsive. This is an essential step, with multi-dimensional poverty and intensifying climate shocks posing constant threats, to ensure no children and families slip between the cracks. By 2026, the gradual introduction of a universal child grant, starting with children under-3, will be in place to facilitate children’s access to all health, education, protection and other services essential for their development.
