Social protection for rural-urban migrants in Vietnam: current situation, challenges and opportunities

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a research project entitled Social Protection for Rural-Urban Migrants in Vietnam. The central discussion of this research is that the lack of adequate policies and institutional programs for social protection for migrants in general, and the residence-based nature of the current social policies are largely responsible for the vulnerability and marginalization of rural-urban migrants. Unless the gaps in this policy and legal framework are effectively addressed, migrants will continue to be socially excluded, creating a growing urban poor stratum. Policy implications should therefore rest first on the recognition of the legal status of the migrants themselves in the places of destination and second on increasing migrants access to key social and economic resources. In most instances, a strategy based on this proposition should call for a significant departure from current approaches, practices and institutional arrangements underlying the government's social protection policies.