Making Voices Heard and Count in Vietnam

 

 

The Leave No One Behind coalition in Vietnam was founded in 2018. From 2018-2020, country lead organisation was ActionAid Vietnam. The current lead organisation is the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD). The VUFO NGO Resource Centre acts as strategic support of the coalition.

Current members (October 2020) are:

  • ActionAid Vietnam
  • ADRA Vietnam
  • CBM Vietnam
  • ChildFund Australia in Vietnam
  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities – FCM
  • Helvetas in Vietnam
  • Human Rights Space – HRS
  • IDEA
  • Management and Sustainable Development Institute – MSD (Lead)
  • Plan International in Vietnam
  • Save the Children International in Vietnam – SCI
  • Towards Transparency
  • VUFO – NGO Resource Centre
  • World Vision International Vietnam
  • WWF Vietnam

The country coalition has delivered a project pilot between 2018 and 2019, focussing on people living in poverty; ethnic minorities; people with disabilities; elderly people; young people. Target SDG was SDG 10.2. The scaled up project is underway and aims to create space for civil society and for citizen-generated data to be used in official SDG monitoring processes. The project focuses on CSOs, children and youth, women, LGBTIQ, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities and aims to reach ca. 600 people per research location, expecting to reach a total of at least 3,000 people during the project period (May 2021 – June 2022).

Pilot Project (2018-2020)Ongoing Project (2020-2022)

Country PublicationsTargeted SDGs

Vietnam Pilot

SDG Target:

Target 10.2:

    By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Target groups:

    People living in poverty; ethnic minorities; people with disabilities; elderly people; young people.

How did we engage marginalised groups in SDG monitoring?

    LNOB partners and a partner research institute trained community members in two sites to conduct quantitative surveys with 400 people and facilitate focus group discussions.  Further, 49 in-depth interviews were conducted with officials (district + commune level) and community members.

Ways target groups are left behind

  • Ethnicity is a strong driver for marginalisation in Vietnam, and several ethnic minority groups experience discrimination due to low literacy, lack of economic opportunities and awareness about their rights.
  • Women and people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable as they are burdened with unequal workloads and face barriers accessing public services.
  • Prejudices about ethnic minorities, young people, people with disabilities and women impede their opportunities to contribute to local decision making.
  • Language is a crucial barrier preventing ethnic minority groups from contributing in elections, and particularly women from joining in vocational training and finding employment.
  • 40% of citizens surveyed had participated in making local SDG action plans – but significantly more men than women participate and ethnic minority participation is low.

What is missed in national reporting?

  • The national indicator for 10.2 focuses on income inequality, overlooking complex socio-cultural and language barriers to social, economic and political inclusion.
  • Currently, only a small number of sources – all developed by or with the close participation of government agencies – are recognised as official data for measurement of the SDGs, which overlooks perspectives of marginalised groups.

National advocacy impact so far

    In Vietnam, the coalition has engaged collaboratively with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to promote the use of non-government data in SDG reporting and to inform planning and policy on SDG implementation. At least one member of the coalition was present at each of the formal consultations with civil society on Vietnam’s 2018 VNR, and data and case studies supplied by the coalition were also included in the VNR which boosted the representation of marginalised groups significantly.

Recommendations

  • Strengthen implementation of the Gender Equality Law and mechanisms for women, especially ethnic minority women, to participate meaningfully in local political life, including policy making, policy discussion, policy implementation and monitoring.
    • Include more women, especially ethnic minority women, in state socio-economic development programs;
    • Train local officials in gender sensitivity;
    • Organise literacy activities and registration for ethnic minority women and women in mountainous areas.
  • Strengthen electoral processes by applying principles of self-determination and “universal, equal, direct, and secret ballot” in elections, including village head elections, to ensure the transparency and quality of elections.
  • Promote local cultural capital such as indigenous languages and cultures through policies and programs. Media information programs and elections should use both Vietnamese and local languages.
  • Increasingly target training activities related to economic development and production to the poor and to elderly people, both of whom can contribute significantly to poverty reduction. Provide vocational training for ethnic minority young people to provide them with opportunities to look for off-farm work.
  • Support people with disabilities to work after vocational training and promote the development of People with Disabilities Associations.
  • Strengthen communication on the SDGs, including formulating messages appropriate to differences in geography, culture and education.
  • Social organisations need to promote activities to attract people’s participation and support social integration, especially for women, poor people and people with disabilities.

 

Ongoing Project (2020-2022)

Country PublicationsTargeted SDGs

Vietnam Ongoing Project

Left No one Behind – CSO engagement in SDG Monitoring process

Executive summary:

The joint initiative aims to create space for civil society and for citizen-generated data to be used in official SDG monitoring processes. At current, data on SDGs in Vietnam is dependent on official data collected from official sources managed by the national statistics office. However, engagement by citizens and civil society is critical to the implementation and monitoring of SDGs and citizen-generated data gathered by civil society actors can play an important role in monitoring progress on reaching SDGs.

The project attempts to enhance the capacities of LNOB Vietnam partnership members and local CSOs to contribute to evidence-based monitoring of SDGs by directly contributing to SDG data generation processes. The project also aims to strengthen the participatory space and dialogue between CSOs, government and private sector in order to increase the voices of marginalised communities in SDG implementation and monitoring, aiming at having data gathered used in the government’s SDG report.

Voices of marginalised community representatives will be raised through focus group interviews and support from relevant ministries will be sought to strengthen the connection with authorities to have more engagement in community-driven projects dealing with data challenge.

Project findings will be brought to national and international fora; the project includes holding one national dialogue, organising online trainings for LNOB partnership members and local CSO partner organisations and sharing findings at both regional (Asia-Pacific) level and internationally.

Project duration 01/05/2021 – 30/06/2022
Desired goals and outcomes
  • Create space for civil society and citizen generated data to be used in official SDG monitoring processes, or through some form of independent monitoring, which needs to be put in place in Vietnam
  • Enhanced capacities of LNOB Vietnam members and local CSOs to contribute to evidence-based SDG monitoring and advocacy;
  • Strengthened participatory space and dialogue between CSOs and Government and Private Sector for increased voice of marginalised communities in SDG implementation and monitoring process.
SDGs/indicators covered
  • SDG 10
  • SDG 16

(specific reference indicators to be determined)

Data generation methodology(s)
  • Community Survey
  • Community Dialogues
  • Focus Group Interviews
  • CSOs’ Survey
  • CSOs’ Dialogue
  • Multi-stakeholder Workshop Consultation
Marginalised groups targeted CSOs, Children and youth, women, LGBTIQ, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities
Research locations At least 5 provinces where LNOB members work
Total number of people reached Expected to reach at least 3,000 people
Number of trainings / capacity building workshops
  • 2 trainings for LNOB Partnership members and local CSOs as partner organization on data and evidence gathering
  • 1 online course on SDG and data & evidence gathering methodology
  • 1 expert workshop for research methodology and questionnaires
Number of dialogues with local authorities / decision makers To be identified later
Number of dialogues with national authorities 1 dialogue at national level
Number of policy / service recommendations to be produced 2
Targeted government institutions Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the General Statistics Office (GSO), and further relevant ministries including Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Education and Training.
Lead implementer Management Sustainable and Development Institute (MSD)
Other involved partner organisations
  • ActionAid Vietnam
  • ADRA Vietnam
  • CBM Vietnam
  • ChildFund Australia in Vietnam
  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities – FCM
  • Helvetas in Vietnam
  • Human Rights Space – HRS
  • IDEA
  • Plan International in Vietnam
  • Save the Children International in Vietnam – SCI
  • Towards Transparency
  • VUFO – NGO Resource Centre
  • World Vision International Vietnam
  • WWF Vietnam

The ongoing project in Vietnam is supported by Sida.

Country PublicationsTargeted SDGs

Vietnam Publications

2023 CGD Report

This report was published as part of the 2nd phase of the MVHC project in Vietnam.

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Leaflet on LNOB Vietnam

The LNOB Vietnam coalition introduces itself

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2020-2021 HIGHLIGHT REPORT

This report presents the achievements of the Leave No One Behind Vietnam in 2020-2021.

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Summary - Vietnam Pilot

This document outlines the findings from the Vietnam LNOB coalition's work during the pilot phase 2018 - 2019

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Our Target SDGS in Vietnam

Click on the SDG to reveal more information

10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

The international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty. The most vulnerable nations – the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island developing states – continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. However, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other assets.

Additionally, while income inequality between countries may have been reduced, inequality within countries has risen. There is growing consensus that economic growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty if it is not inclusive and if it does not involve the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.

To reduce inequality, policies should be universal in principle paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations.

Related Vietnam Targets

10.2

By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status