Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of the UN’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Agency and Chair of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group arrived in Vietnam for a three-day visit

Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of the UN’s Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Agency and Chair of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group arrived in Vietnam for a three-day visit from October 14-16.

According to the UN office in Vietnam, during the visit, Bachelet will meet with senior Vietnamese officials, attend a discussion on social security with representatives of the Vietnamese government and with partners and organisations on social protection and effective national responses.

The Social Protection Initiative, which is co-led by the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation, is a global social policy promoting integrated strategies that guarantee a minimum level of social protection for all, including access to essential social services and income security.

According to Bachelet, Social Protection is an effective way of helping Vietnam to mitigate vulnerabilities to external shocks through improving its social protection system and is particularly relevant as the Vietnamese Government has increased its focus on social welfare. It is also particularly pertinent as Vietnam is also focusing on social protection in its national development planning, including the next Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2011-2015.

In her capacity as head of the UN’s agency for Women, Bachelet will also focus on gender inequity in Vietnam and how this links to Social Protection.

Bachelet will raise some of these issues during her meetings with policy makers and partners and will voice the UN’s support for Social Protection – with a particular focus on women, as one of the most vulnerable groups in need of social protection.

The UN, in particular through its multilateral networks and the expertise of specialised agencies like the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation, can support the government in this complex task.

Source: VNA