Hanoi (VNA) - UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Matt Jackson has affirmed UNFPA’s readiness to support Vietnam’s journey toward sustainable development by leveraging population data, fostering strong partnerships, and building resilience in a rapidly🍷 changing world, in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The following is the full text of the interview.

Reporter: How would you assess Vietnam’s efforts in socio-economic development in 2024, especially regarding population aging and climate change response?

Matt Jackson: Our global family has reached over 8 billion people, signifying advanced milestones in health, science, medicine, education, agriculture and technology. As a result, many countries, including Vietnamꦜ, are observing a demographic shift toward an ageing population, which means people are living longer. That’s a positive outcome of development. Demographic shifts, in particular ageing populations, and responding to climate change are interlinked priorities. Older persons are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, in particular ill-health effects, and are often overlooked when it comes to disaster response. For this reason, climate action in many countries is increasingly promoting lifelong investments in climate knowledge and adaptation, as well as housing and care facilities for older persons who are climate resilient. In addition, older people have much knowledge about how to prepare for extreme weather events and are an important resource for building resilience within communities.

We know that Vietnam entered the phase of population ageing in 2011, with 10% of its population over 60 years old. Today, this figure has reached 16% and is expected to surpass 20% by 2036, marking Vietnam’s transition into an “aged” society. Population aging reflects positive development, showcasing advancements in socio-economic conditions, healthcare and living standards. In a society with an increasing number of elderly people, this demographic shift presents a golden opportunity for economic growth, particularly in the expanding care market catering to the needs and aspirations of older persons. The rapid ageing process also demands greater efforts to address challenges faced by the elderly. Vietnam has made significant strides in promoting policies and programmes to prepare for population ageing. The draft Population Law, currently under public consultation, includes proposals from the Ministry of Health to adapt to an aging society. Alongside policies for elderly care and health packages, there is a strong need for policies that harness the values of the elderly, creating suitable employment opportunities and increasing their income. Moreover, to address the challenges of population ageing, Vietnam recognises the importance of investing in its young population. Efforts have been made to provide comprehensive sexuality education, improve access to reproductive health services, and create opportunities for youth engagement in climate action. By empowering young people with knowledge and skills, Vietnam aims to build a resilient and adaptive society capable of addressing future challenges. One example is UNFPA’s partnership with the government and stakeholders to develop an Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) model that is based at the community level. This initiative supports caregivers and addresses societal challenges by providing comprehensive care services for an ageing society. With a community-based approach, ICOPE reduces pressure on public healthcare systems and households by encouraging local engagement and shared responsibility in elderly care. Preparing for an older population includes many areas such as health insurance, pension systems and preparing the health care system as well as promoting labour market engagement among older persons. Vietnam is already making strides in many of these areas as well as tapping into policy exchanges and learning from other countries in the region and beyond. The preparation begins with the systematic use of population data to help plan and adapt infrastructure and policies to the realities of demographic change. Understanding data such as how many people live in each location, their socioeconomic characteristics and the age structure of the local population is essential to ensure people-centred governance. Data on climate change and climate risk is also a key tool in developing effective and targeted plans for disaster risk reduction and responding to climate-induced extreme weather events. These plans also help to ensure the continuation of key services for example, essential sexual and reproductive health services and services for older people; and, of course, plans that include investing in young people are crucial for every country on the journey to climate adaptation and resilience.

Reporter: Typhoon Yagi and floods caused significant loss of life and property in Vietnam, especially among vulnerable groups. What recommendations do you have for Vietnam to help these groups cope with the impacts of climate change?

Matt Jackson: Typhoon Yagi and its devastating aftermath highlight the urgent need to enhance resilience and support for adolescent girls, women, children, the elderly and marginalised groups such as PwD, migrants, ethnic minority communities in remote areas. These populations often bear the brunt of⛄ disast🐬ers and emergencies as well as face increasing risks.

Efforts must focus on improving forecasting and early warning capacities, ensuring timely, accessible and comprehensive disaster warnings for all communities, especially those in remote areas and minority populations. These groups often lack the resources or infrastructure to respond swiftly to emergencies. Early warning systems should be tailored to effectively reach these communities by utilising local networks and digital platforms and be in accessible formats such as sign language and radio broadcasts. UNFPA and the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority (VDDMA) will continue collaboration to strengthen Vietnam’s resilience against disasters and climate change while improving the health and quality of life for affected populations. As the UN agency specialising in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), UNFPA remains present before, during and after crises to ensure SRH services and gender-based violence responses are integrated into emergency response programmes. Evidence shows that disasters often exacerbate gender-based violence as women face caregiving burdens, economic losses and heightened vulnerability in overcrowded shelters with limited resources. In responding to the devastation of Typhoon Yagi across northern Vietnam, UNFPA mobilised over 16 billion VND to support vulnerable groups affected by the storm. These efforts reaffirm UNFPA’s commitment to disaster response and recovery, especially for women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. UNFPA allocated essential resources to ensure short- and long-term benefits for affected groups, including:

• 3,000 dignity kits for women,
• Cash support for 1,250 pregnant women to ensure safe deliveries at healthcare facilities,
• Cash assistance for 835 elderly individuals in remote and ethnic minority areas, and
• 500,000 USD in support for gender-based violence services in Quang Ninh province.

Through partnerships with the Vietnam Farmers’ Union, dignity kits have become an essential part of UNFPA’s comprehensive humanitarian support package. These kits protect women’s and girls’ reproductive health and rights, maintain hygiene and preserve dignity in disaster contexts. They include information on reproductive health and guidance on preventing and responding to gender-based violence. UNFPA calls on all partners to ensure that climate adaptation strategies are gender-sensitive and integrated into national and local plans. Policies should address long-term climate change challenges, ensuring that women, children and minorities are central to decision-making processes. Moreover, to ensure permanent preparedness for natural disasters such as typhoons, it is essential to provide comprehensive training for local communities, with a particular focus on young people. Empowering local youth is crucial for developing long-term solutions for climate change adaptation and resilience.

Reporter: What are UNFPA’s cooperation projects and programmes in Vietnam in 2025?

Matt Jackson: In 2025, UNFPA will🥃 continue its efforts through various cooperation projects and programmes to address Vietnam’s pressing needs in partnership with the government of Vietnam and aligned with Vietnam’s national priorities and global commitments.

As the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA is making every effort around the world to end preventable maternal deaths, end the unmet need for family planning, and end gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful practices by 2030. Ensuring rights and choices for all such as bodily autonomy is a major principle of population-centred development because people who can make choices about their bodies often have more and better options throughout their lives. These three goals are part of UNFPA’s corporate strategic plan worldwide, including in Vietnam where they are also included in the 10th UNFPA Country Programme for Vietnam 2022-2026. In the upcoming year, we will continue to support the government of Vietnam’s work in strategic areas including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); youth empowerment; population ageing; evidence-based policy making and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls. Some of the areas that I am most excited about are working with government Ministries, Departments and other partners to develop plans to scale up the One Stop Service Centres (Ngoi nha Anh Duong) and National Hotline to support survivors of GBV. Recently, a new Anh Duong House was opened in January in Hoa Binh with plans for additional centres to open in An Giang, Khanh Hoa and Ha Tinh. We also support life skills and comprehensive sexuality education for young people, and enable robust population data for effective policy making. UNFPA is also supporting the government of Vietnam and the General Statistics Office in conducting important surveys such as the mid-decade census, and studies on issues like migration, population ageing and ethnic minority communities. This data will help the government to understand population trends and plan accordingly. Also, we will continue to support Vietnam’s population ageing process by supporting an integrated and coherent social protection system and applying a life-cycle and gender-transformative approach to ageing to address inequalities, enhance the resilience of the most vulnerable groups, pilot and scale up integrated care for older persons through the intergenerational self-help clubs. Furthermore, we will collaborate with the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Vietnam and many different stakeholders and partners to ensure universal access to an integrated package of quality sexual and reproductive health information and services, this includes: Data generation, analysis, and transformation for policies, guidelines, and tools that address the special needs of vulnerable populations; elaboration of innovative financing mechanisms including private sector financing and sub-national public financing, particularly to address emerging SRHR issues such as cervical cancer screening and human papillomavirus vaccinations. We will also continue to increase equitable access to comprehensive and gender-transformative SRHR information and services and to create and support comprehensive youth development and participation with a focus on vulnerable and marginalised groups including ethnic minorities, adolescents and youth, people with disabilities LGBTQI+ and migrant workers. In addition, we will continue to support Vietnam’s aims to promote gender equality, prevent and respond to GBV and address gender-biased sex selection and other harmful practices. One concrete area of work we are committed to is supporting the Government’s ambition to develop a multi-sectoral GBV coordination mechanism at national and provincial levels, ensuring alignment with global standards and leaving no one behind. This will ensure that all survivors of GBV can access timely and quality support services regardless of their location or situation. These are just some examples of UNFPA’s work to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. By addressing demographic change and social challenges UNFPA reaffirms our commitment to supporting Vietnam’s sustainable development goals and the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is an exciting year ahead for the UNFPA - government of Vietnam partnership.

Reporter: What are your thoughts on the country's strategic directions to usher Vietnam into a new eꦜra, and how will UNFPA support Vietnam in this process?

Matt Jackson: The transition emphasises Vie🅰tnam’s commitment to building a resilient, inclusive nation that leaves no o💞ne behind. This aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Achieving this vision requires an integrated approach, leveraging resources, fostering innovation and addressing challenges such as gender inequality, population ageing and barriers to quality education and healthcare. To support this vision, UNFPA in Vietnam looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Government of Vietnam to implement the agenda of the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) agreed upon in Cairo in 1994, and to achieve UNFPA’s three transformational goals which, by 2030, are to reach:

• Zero preventable maternal deaths,
• Zero unmet family planning needs, and
• Zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls.

UNFPA is committed to supporting Vietnam’s population and development priorities, from improving access to quality reproductive healthcare to addressing son preference and gender imbalances at birth. We are dedicated to promoting the collection and use of reliable population data to inform evidence-based policies and programmes, helping Vietnam to harness opportunities that stem from demographic shifts. Additionally, UNFPA aims to fulfill the potential of the Vietnamese young people who currently account for 21% population of Vietnam, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary skills and opportunities to contribute to the nation's development. UNFPA stands ready to support Vietnam’s journey toward sustainable development by leveraging population data, fostering strong partnerships and building resilience in a rapidly changing world./.