Workshop discusses on promoting migrants’ health in Vietnam
11/12/19
Health of
migrants in Vietnam was the focus of a workshop held in Hanoi on December
10 by the Ministry of Health (MoH), the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the World Health Organisation.
Cao Hung Thai,
Deputy Director of the MoH’s Department for Medical Examination and Treatment
Management, cited an IOM report in 2016 as saying that there were about 2.6
million Vietnamese living and working overseas. Meanwhile, data in 2015 of the
General Statistics Office show that the percentage of domestic migration was
13.6 percent.
The rapid increase
in population movement around the world, as well as in Vietnam, has had major
impact on community health, he said, noting that the MoH recognised the
importance of migrants’ health and pledged to implement the World Health
Assembly’s Resolution 70.15 on promoting the health of refugees and migrants.
To achieve the
goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, migrants’
health must be fully
ensured, Thai added.
Brett Dickson from
IOM Vietnam said international standards and conventions on human rights were
issued to protect migrants and refugees’ rights, including the right to health.
However, a number of refugees and migrants still lack access to medical
services and financial protection in health.
He highly valued
Vietnam’s recognition of the importance of migrants’ health and its commitment
to implementing Resolution 70.15, considering this an important milestone to
improve migrants’ health in Vietnam.
According to IOM Vietnam, internal migration in the country involves mainly young
people with 83.9 percent of the migrants aged between 15 and 39. Regarding
external migration, the top seven destinations for Vietnamese labourers from
January to October 2019 were Japan, Taiwan (China), the Republic of Korea,
Romania, Macau (China), and Malaysia.
At the workshop,
participants were briefed about the results of a study on migrants’ health in
Vietnam and information on regional and global migration. They also discussed
solutions to promote migrants’ health in the future./.
All comments [ 14 ]
Improved international regulations and standards are needed to protect the rights and welfare of migrants, including thousands of Vietnamese guest workers.
Labour migration is a highly fluid phenomenon in the 21st century, capturing public attention and driving political controversy globally.
Migrant workers are often vulnerable and policies across the region do little to address their needs.
The accepted recommendations cover important human rights protection issues, such as the completion of the legal system; measures to protect civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights; and promotion of dialogue and cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms.
Vietnam has also ratified the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.
Vietnam has seen an increasing number of its citizens migrating abroad while welcoming a huge influx of foreign migrants in the past years.
The nation is completing policies to facilitate legal and safe migration, prevent human trafficking, and protect rights of the migrants.
We need the efforts to effectively manage migration and reduce risks at the global level so that immigration could become a driving force for cooperation among all nations in the context of globalisation and strong development of value chains.
Experts also discussed measures to improve human trafficking prevention work, contributing to enhancing legal and safe migration.
In Vietnam, over 100,000 people work aboard and tens of thousands of people get married with foreigners every year, while more than 300,000 foreigners are living and working in the nation.
The recently adopted Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees, which include improving working conditions for migrant workers and changing misperceptions of labour migration.
It also helps raise awareness on decent work and migration, a topic which features strongly in the United Nations Declaration on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The ILO Deputy Director-General spoke highly of Vietnam’s labour and social reforms, especially in gender equality, social security and building harmonious, stable and progressive labour relations.
Vietnam is committed to accompanying the ILO for the noble goal which was also President Ho Chi Minh’s thought indicated in documents and decrees during the first days of the Vietnamese government.
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