New Zealand provides financial aid for female workers in central Vietnam

HCMC - The New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam will provide NZ$50,000 (nearly VND800 million) to help female workers in the informal economy such as street vendors, junk collectors or house helpers in the central region overcome hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The launch ceremony of the project is attended by the leaders of Danang City and Thua Thien-Hue Province, New Zealand Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Mayhew and representatives from ActionAid Vietnam and the Center for Community Development and Social Work – PHOTO: NEW ZEALAND EMBASSY IN VIETNAM

The aid, which is a joint project between the New Zealand Embassy and ActionAid Vietnam, is expected to benefit more than 350 female informal workers in Hue and Danang cities over the next three months.

The workers will all receive capacity advice and support on household economic literacy, gender equality and child nutrition. In addition, the project will provide a hardship relief package of VND2 million to each recipient to help meet their immediate needs as a result of Covid-19.

“This is a practical initiative to help ease the economic impacts of Covid-19 and strengthen the resilience of more than 350 women workers and their families in Danang and Hue’s informal sectors,” said New Zealand Chargé d’Affaires Joseph Mayhew.

“I believe that supporting women workers in sectors that are hardest hit by the pandemic is a vital component of a robust, inclusive and equitable recovery,” he added.

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected Vietnam’s tourism industry, with Danang and Hue being some of the hardest-hit localities.

According to ActionAid Vietnam’s recent research, more than 90% of the tourism sector’s workers lost their jobs and income due to Covid-19. In Danang and Hue, almost 90,000 people either became unemployed or were left with a reduced income.

“This project is one way to help women workers become more visible in the public eye, and at the same time, a means to set up a practical model where support can be delivered to the target groups and individuals in an efficient and transparent manner,” said Hoang Phuong Thao, country director of ActionAid Vietnam.

“We want to contribute to the commitments of Vietnam and New Zealand of leaving no one behind in the struggles to overcome Covid-19,” Thao said.