Housing poverty in Vietnam

10,510 people served in FY18
+ 1,000 volunteers hosted
Projects: community housing development, disaster resilience, housing market development and volunteer programme

We began addressing housing poverty in Vietnam in January 2001 with our first project in Danang City in the central coastal region.

As of June 2014, we have enabled more than 13,300 low income Vietnamese families to improve their living conditions through decent homes, clean water and safe sanitation. Our local team has also provided training in areas such as disaster preparedness, financial education, and hygiene practices to more than 56,000 individuals.

Rebuilding after disaster...

Vietnam has lifted more than 35 million people out of poverty since the early 1990s due to rapid economic growth and reforms.

However, nearly 11% of Vietnam’s 90-million population is still living below the national poverty line of 400,000 Vietnamese dong (about US$20) per month in rural areas. If compared to the World Bank’s poverty line, the number of Vietnamese living in poverty would be much larger.

...after disaster

Low-income families living in poorly built housing are trapped in annual cycles of repairs due to frequent floods and typhoons. More than half of rural dwellers lack adequate sanitation while more than 1/3 do not have access to clean water.

Seven in 10 people also face the risk of typhoons, torrential storms and flooding which hit Vietnam annually.

Read more about disaster relief in Vietnam

How we address housing poverty in Vietnam

We partner with low-income families to build, repair or upgrade their homes with families contributing “sweat equity”, or their own…

We partner with low-income families to build, repair or upgrade their homes with families contributing “sweat equity”, or their own labour, and typically repaying the costs through microfinance loans. International volunteers provide a hand-up by building alongside the families.

We also enable families to build facilities for clean water and safe sanitation according to their needs. Our partner organisations generally include the local government and communities themselves.

The training that our team offers to those communities includes appropriate construction technology, financial management, awareness and practice of proper hygiene, community-level disaster risk management.

Key facts & figures

Capital: Hanoi
Main country facts: Gained independence in 1945
Population – circa 103.8 million
Urbanisation – 38.8%
Life expectancy – 75.52 years
Unemployment – 3.11%
Poverty line – 6.7%

Strengthening vulnerable families

In Hoa Binh province, northern Vietnam, we're providing safe shelter along with water and sanitation facilities to improve health and productivity of more than 80 low-income ethnic minority households. Living in a disaster-prone area, the families will also receive training to protect their lives and property from calamities.

Building resilience of disaster-hit communities

Quang Nam province, located in the central coastal region of Vietnam, is among the poorest regions and often affected by disasters. Our team aims to build resilience to natural disasters and climate change through housing solutions and community-based disaster mitigation training. We also help families to improve their health through clean water and safe sanitation.

Natural disaster relief and Housing microfinance

Our local office has helped 212 families in badly affected Quang Nam province to recover from Typhoon Nari which struck in October 2013. Shelter repair kits were provided along with training and assistance to help families repair their homes.

In southern Vietnam, access to microloans will enable 155 low-income households to improve their livelihood. The Nine Dragons project also trains families in community-based disaster risk management, and raising hygiene standards through the provision of adequate water-sanitation facilities.