New Zealand to aid informal female workers in central region
VOV.VN - The Embassy of New Zealand and ActionAid Vietnam will provide support for female workers operating in informal sectors in the central city of Da Nang City and Thua Thien-Hue province in line with a new partnership.
The Embassy of New Zealand in Vietnam is to offer NZD50,000, equivalent to roughly US$35,600, to the project, which has been designed with the goal of reaching more than 350 women workers over the next three months. The female workers targeted as part of the scheme will typically be in informal employment, such as street vendors, junk collectors, or house keepers.
Joseph Mayhew, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of New Zealand, emphasised the importance of this project as part of a larger programme of support given by New Zealand to the nation.
“This is a practical initiative to help ease the economic impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and to strengthen the resilience of more than 350 women workers and their families, in Da Nang and Hue’s informal sectors.”
“I believe that supporting women workers in sectors that are hardest hit by the pandemic is a vital component of robust, inclusive, and equitable recovery,” he said.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has served to greatly disrupted the national tourism industry, with the major international tourism hubs of Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue being particularly affected.
The project will feature training on household economic literacy and management, women’s rights, and child nutrition. As part of the scheme, financial support can be used to purchase food, living essentials, or small livelihood options.
According to recent research conducted by ActionAid Vietnam, more than 90% of workers in the domestic tourism sector lost their jobs and income due to COVID-19. In Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue, approximately 90,000 people either became unemployed or have suffered from a greatly reduced income. Only 22% of surveyed workers currently have access to the Government’s VND62 trillion bailout package.
Hoang Phuong Thao, country director of ActionAid Vietnam, said the project is a way in which to help female workers become more visible within the public eye, whilst simultaneously building a practical model where support can be delivered to target groups and individuals in a way which is both efficient and transparent.
“We desire to contribute to the commitments of Vietnam and New Zealand, of leaving no one behind in the COVID-19 fight,” he added.