Vietnam : Formal and Informal Social Assistance in Metropolitan Cities - A Rapid Assessment

Abstract

The expanding coverage of social
 assistance in Vietnam raises a question of whether relevant
 arrangements at all levels are sufficiently robust to handle
 a larger program. This note explores institutional and
 delivery aspects of formal and informal social assistance in
 metropolitan cities. It is a result of a rapid assessment of
 governance and administration of social assistance in
 metropolitan cities, including interviews with related
 stakeholders in Ho Chi Minh City in July 2010 and in Hanoi
 in January 2011. Basically, the existing governance and
 administrative structures for delivery of Decrees 67/13
 assistance in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are characterized
 by a number of common issues elsewhere in the country, as
 described in previous studies. In addition, this note finds
 that while the cities may have resources to self-finance
 their assistance under Decrees 67/13 and provide significant
 informal assistance through various channels, their
 determination of exclusive poverty lines without sound
 scientific grounds may result in substantial inclusion and
 exclusion errors in locally funded schemes of aid.
 Furthermore, although the cities provided some forms of
 off-budget temporary assistance in response to the economic
 crisis in 2009, their targeting was based on the poor list
 and the 'conventional' administrative
 classification of residence status rather than consideration
 of actual needs as arisen from the crisis. These findings
 entail systematically strengthening the governance and
 administrative system of social assistance, given proven
 substantial increases in beneficiary coverage under Decree
 13; improving methods of determining poverty lines; and
 developing measures to identify emerging needs from external
 catastrophic shocks and thus formulating an appropriate
 targeting mechanism in the metropolitan cities. Also, a
 mechanism is required to effectively harmonize formal and
 informal assistance in order to optimize resources and
 maximize the coverage of assistance to needy individuals and households.