UN, Vietnam talk about social protection floor

High-ranking talks on the Social Protection Floor (SPF) between the United Nations (UN) and the Vietnamese government took place in Hanoi on October 14.

Attending the talks were Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean President and Chair of the UN Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, Vietnamese Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and John Hendra, UN Permanent Coordinator in Vietnam .

Speaking at the event, the MoLISA Minister welcomed Michelle Bachelet’s visit to Vietnam to prepare for the implementation of the UN Initiative on Social Protection Floor.

Affirming Vietnam ’s consistent policy of ensuring and developing social security, Ngan shared the overall objective of the country’s 2011-2020 socio-economic development strategy in which Vietnam strives to become a middle-income country with the harmony of economic growth, social progress and equity, with continuously improving living standards and a diversified social protection system.

The talks offered a chance for Vietnam to access the basic contents of the UN Social Protection Floor Initiative, in order to share experiences and strengthen cooperation between Vietnam and the UN in the process of building and implementing the country’s 2011-2020 Social Security Strategy and the Social Security Project for 2011-2015, she added.

Michelle Bachelet said her visit aims to collect ideas for the compilation of a global report on social protection and Vietnam -- with its recent experiences in extending health insurance to more beneficiaries and readiness to implement its social security strategy -- will be a good example to be described in the report.

The UN official expressed her belief that the SPF will be an useful tool for Vietnam to reach the goals anticipated in the national social security strategy. She also said that the UN is ready to support the Vietnamese government in this field.

According to the UN, the SPF is a basic set of rights and transfers that enables and empowers all members of a society to access a minimum of goods and services in the fields of health, safe water and sanitation, education, food, housing, and asset/saving information.

The SPF emphasises the implementation of a comprehensive social security policy to ensure minimum services and income transfers for people, especially vulnerable groups, during their lives./.

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Vietnam pays attention to social equality, says PM

Vietnam, through its development strategy, planned to boost economic development while ensuring social equality and environmental protection.

The statement was made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a reception for the Chair of the UN Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, Michelle Bachelet, who was the former Chilean President, in Hanoi on October 14.

According to the PM, together with economic development programmes, Vietnam was also implementing 40 social security programmes. Thanks to its sustainable development strategy, Vietnam has maintained its growth rate of nearly 7 percent during the 2006-2010 period despite impacts from the global economic crisis, he said.

However, PM Dung noted that Vietnam remained a low-income, developing country, so investment for education and health care as well as improving living standards and incomes was still a major challenge for the country.

The Government leader also suggested UN organisations continue cooperation and support for Vietnam in order to help the country better implement its social security programmes.

He affirmed that Vietnam would stand side by side with UN organisations, especially in developing people-centred goals.

At the meeting, PM Dung said he was pleased with the developing relationship between Vietnam and the UN in all aspects, including effective cooperation between Vietnamese agencies and UN bodies, especially a pilot “One-UN” programme in Vietnam .

He also spoke highly of the Initiative on the Social Protection Floor, saying that it was an initiative of humanity that represented the UN’s common goal of peace, cooperation and development for countries and peoples.

Michelle Bachelet expressed her admiration at Vietnam ’s social security achievements, saying that the country’s big success in this area should be mutiplied.

She said that the UN Initiative on Social Protection Floor, initiated and implemented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), aimed to help countries avoid a collapse following the global economic crisis.

She affirmed that she would keep close watch on significant developments in Vietnam and would try her best to promote development of the country.

With its strong development in recent years, the UN official expressed her belief that Vietnam was well placed to cope with major global challenges./.

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Head of UN Women visits Vietnam

Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of the UN’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Agency and Chair of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, will pay an official visit to Vietnam from Oct. 14-16.

According to the UN office in Vietnam, during her three-day visit, Bachelet will meet with senior Vietnamese officials, attend a discussion on social security with representatives of the Vietnamese government and with partners and organisations on social protection and effective national responses.

The Social Protection Initiative, which is co-led by the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation, is a global social policy promoting integrated strategies that guarantee a minimum level of social protection for all, including access to essential social services and income security.

According to Bachelet, Social Protection is an effective way of helping Vietnam to mitigate vulnerabilities to external shocks through improving its social protection system and is particularly relevant as the Vietnamese Government has increased its focus on social welfare. It is also particularly pertinent as Vietnam is also focusing on social protection in its national development planning, including the next Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2011-2015.

In her capacity as head of the UN’s agency for Women, Bachelet will also focus on gender inequity in Vietnam and how this links to Social Protection.

Bachelet will raise some of these issues during her meetings with policy makers and partners and will voice the UN’s support for Social Protection – with a particular focus on women, as one of the most vulnerable groups in need of social protection.

The UN, in particular through its multilateral networks and the expertise of specialised agencies like the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation, can support the government in this complex task./.

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UN expert on rights, poverty visits VN

GENEVA — The UN Independent Expert on human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepulveda, started a week-long visit to Viet Nam yesterday.

At the request of the Vietnamese Government, she will collect first-hand information on efforts undertaken to improve the situation of both groups.

"Missions like this are an important opportunity to review progress," she said in Geneva before leaving.

"Viet Nam has been praised for its economic development in recent years, but poverty persists," she said.

"Social protection policies are of great importance if people are to be lifted out of poverty," she said. "And human-rights standards require official support."

"Social-protection interventions are also instrumental in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals," added Sepulveda.

The independent expert will meet senior Government officials, including a Deputy Prime Minister and representatives of ministries involved in social policies.

She will also meet representatives from the United Nations, the donor community and non-governmental organisations.

Sepulveda will also visit poor communities in Ha Noi and in Bac Kan and Quang Nam provinces.

She will then make recommendations on strengthening social protection from a human-rights perspective. Her report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next year.

Sepulveda is a Chilean lawyer working as research director at the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Geneva. — VNS

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