HANOI – The United Nations in Vietnam on Monday called for both the benefits and costs of migration to be reflected in Vietnam’s development strategies.
Migration should be included in development strategies
By Thanh Trung - The Saigon Times Daily
HANOI – The United Nations in Vietnam on Monday called for both the benefits and costs of migration to be reflected in Vietnam’s development strategies.
The UN said at a two-day seminar on migration that began in Hanoi on Monday that this would enable Vietnam to maximize the full potential of migration while reducing the vulnerability that migrants and their families deal with.
“Migration can help to enhance human development… However, it’s also true that migrants constitute a group that requires special support and protection from policy-makers and leaders throughout the country (Vietnam),” said Bruce Campbell, UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Vietnam.
He pointed out that the UN remained committed to assisting the Vietnamese Government in developing a supportive policy environment for internal migration.
Speakers at the workshop agreed that the benefits of internal migration were felt at a national and regional level, but also at the individual level by migrants and their families. In Vietnam, according to the UN, internal migration has contributed to the rapid economic growth and poverty reduction during the past 20 years.
Recent data provided by the 2007 National Survey of Population Dynamics showed that the migration rate in Vietnam was 7.5 migrants per 1,000 people, more than double the 2005 rate of 3.36 migrants per 1,000 people. During the 12 months preceding the survey, said Campbell, 802,000 migrants moved within a region and 631,000 people migrated between regions of the country.
The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences also shared the UN view at the seminar.
Dang Nguyen Anh of the academy said there were yet costs associated with migration that should be understood and addressed.
“Migration from rural to urban areas puts pressure on existing urban infrastructure and social services such as housing, health care, electricity, water and sanitation. Migrants are highly vulnerable,” Anh said.