The Current Situation - UNFPA Viet Namvietnam.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Internal Migration... · The Current Situation ... THE CURRENT SITUATION UNFPA VIET NAM ... some

Viet nam

HA NOI - JUNE 2007

The CurrentSituation

Internal Migration in Vietnam:

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agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy

a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using

population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to

ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young

person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with

dignity and respect.

�I NTERNAL M IGRAT ION IN V IETNAM: THE CURRENT S I TUAT ION

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Introduction 5Levelsandpatternsofinternalmigration 8inVietnamMapofnetinter-provincialmigrationratefromthe1999populationandhousingcensus 9Decisiontomigrate 12Adjustmenttolifeinthedestination 14Workandincome 17Satisfactionwithmigration 21Migrantlinkswithhomecommunities 23Health 24Householdregistration 27Conclusion 29

C O N T E N T



Introduction

Controlling the distribution of the population across thedifferentregionsofVietNamhasbeenanimportantpolicyof the Vietnamese Government. The main objective hasbeentotrytokeepthegrowthofurbanareaslowandtoassistpeopleinmovingfromplaceswithhighpopulationdensity,suchas theRedRiverDelta, toareaswhere there is landavailableforagriculture,suchastheCentralHighlands.

Thesepolicieshadsomesuccessinthe1970sand1980sandthepercentagesofpeoplelivinginurbanareasbeingonly19.4percentin1989.However,themovetowardamarketeconomy,whichbeganwith the ‘renovationpolicies’ (Doi Moi) officially introduced in 1986, changed the pattern ofmigrationinthecountry.Economicgrowthincreasedrapidlyinandaroundurbanareasandmanypeopleinthegrowingrural population moved to cities. At the time of the 1999Censusaboutone in fourpeopleinVietNamwerelivinginurbanareas.In1999,theGovernmentapprovedguidelinesforurbandevelopmentandmanagement,whichincludedanestimateof45percentofthepopulationexpectedtobeliving

Internal migration in Vietnam: the current situation


inurbanareasby2020.This figurecouldonlybereachedwithhighlevelsofrural-to-urbanmigration.

Despiteitsrecognitionofthelinkbetweeneconomicgrowthandurbanization,theGovernment,bothatthenationalandprovincial levels, views the current migration trends withconcern.Overcrowdingandpovertyareveryvisibleinmajorcitiesandtherehasbeenageneralperceptionthatthesearemadeworsebywavesofnewmigrantsmovinginfromthecountryside. There has also been concern about migrantscontributing to socialdisorder, includingcrime,when theycome to live in the cities. Thus the household registrationsystem,whichpreviouslywasabletocontrolmovementtosomeextent,isstillseenbymanyasanecessarytooltoregulatepopulationmovement.

Yetatthesametime,therehasbeenconcernabouttheeffectofregulationssuchasthishouseholdregistrationsystemonthe lives of migrants. Many policymakers and researchersworrythatexistingpoliciesnotonlyfailtostoppeoplefrommovingbutalsohaveanegativeeffecton the livesof themigrants,ingettingworkandobtainingpublicserviceslikeeducationandhealthcare.

Thedebateaboutthepositiveandnegativeaspectsofmigration,es-peciallytourbanareas,hasthereforebecomemoreintenseinrecent years. Several national conferences have discussedthese issues, and there have been recent changes in thehousehold registration system. But at the same time therecontinuetobecallsbysometoretaintightcontrolovermi-gration.


ThelackofcurrentandreliableinformationaboutinternalmigrationinVietNamhasbeenoneofthefactorscontributingtoslowpolicychangeonmigration.The1999NationalPopulationCensusprovidedvaluableinformationabouttrendsbutprovidedlittle useful information about the lives of migrants. Andwhiletherehavebeenanumberofsmallin-depthstudiesofmigrants,thesehavefocusedonlyonsmallareas.

To overcome this lack of information, the General Statistical Office, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund, undertook a national survey on migration in 2004.Thissurvey,calledthe2004VietNamMigrationSurvey,wascarriedoutin10provincesthatserveasmajordestinationareasforinternalmigrants.Thesurveywasdesignedtogetinformationinthefollowingareas:

l Theprocessofmigration,includingthedecisiontomigrate andadjustmentofmigrantsattheplaceofdestination.

l Howmigrantsandnon-migrantsattheplaceofdestination differintheircharacteristics,participationinthelabour marketandhealth.

l Impactsofmigrationonmigrantsandtheirfamilies.

Theresultsofthesurveyhavebeenwidelydisseminatedat meetings and through four publications. This booklet summarizes the major findings of the results of the survey, as well as information from other reliable sources,sothatnon-demographerscanhaveabetterunderstandingofthesituationofinternalmigrationinVietNam.


Levels and patterns of internal migration in Viet Nam

ThemostrecentinformationonlevelsofinternalmigrationinVietNamcomesfromthe1999PopulationCensus.Duringthefiveyearsbeforethecensus(1994-1999),nearly4.5millionpersons changed their place of residence (rural communeorurbanward)inVietNam.Amongthesemigrants,55percentmovedwithinaprovince,and45percentmovedacrossprovincialboundarieswithinthecountry.About1.6millionmovedfromruraltourbanareas.

ItisclearthatmigrationisamajorfactorinurbanpopulationgrowthinVietNam,especiallyinthelargestcities.Ananalysisofthe1999censusdatafoundthatrural-to-urbanmigrationwasresponsibleforaboutone-third of urban population growthfrom1994-1999.Thismigrationoutofruralareashelpedreduceruralpopulationgrowth.Migrationalsoprovidedslightlyoverone-halfofthepopulationgrowthforHoChiMinhCityinthisperiod.

HoChiMinhCitywasclearlythecentreofmigrationwiththelargestincrease(410,553persons)inthefiveyearspriortothecensus.Hanoigained114,617people.TherewerealsolargemigrationflowstoareasofindustrialdevelopmentintheNorthandintheSoutheasternregionsandtoagriculturalareasintheCentralHighlands.TheareasthatlostpopulationthroughmigrationweremainlyconcentratedintheNortheastandtheRedRiverDeltaregions.


List of provinces/cities

I. Red River Delta17. Ha Noi18. Hai Phong19. Ha Tay20. Hai Duong21. Hung Yen22. Thai Binh23. Ha Nam24. Nam Dinh25. Ninh Binh

II. Northeast1. Ha Giang2. Tuyen Quang3. Cao Bang4. Lang Son6. Lao Cai7. Yen Bai8. Bac Kan9. Thai Nguyen12. Phu Tho13. Vinh Phuc14. Bac Giang15. Bac Ninh16. Quang Ninh

III. Northwest5. Lai Chaâu10. Sôn La11. Hoaø Bình

IV. North Central26. Thanh Hoa27. Nghe An28. Ha Tinh29. Quang Binh30. Quang Tri31. Thua Thien Hue

V. Central Coast32. Da Nang33. Quang Nam34. Quang Ngai35. Binh Dinh36. Phu Yen37. Khanh Hoa

VI. Central Highlands40. Gia Lai41. Kon Tum42. Dak Lak

VII. Southeast38. Ninh Thuan39. Binh Thuan43. Lam Dong44. Ho Chi Minh45. Binh Duong46. Binh Phuoc47. Tay Ninh48. Dong Nai49. Ba Ria-Vung Tau

VIII. Mekong River Delta50. Long An51. Dong Thap52. An Giang53. Tien Giang54. Ben Tre55. Vinh Long56. Tra Vinh57. Can Tho58. Soc Trang59. Kien Giang60. Bac Lieu61. Ca Mau

Unit: per 1,000

-25 -15 0 25 45

NET INTER-PROVINCIAL MIGRATION RATE (‰)

Q.Ñ.

HOAØNG

SA

(ÑAØ NAÜNG)

Q.Ñ.

TRÖÔØNG

SA

(KHAÙNH

HOØA)

Mapofnetinter-provincialmigrationratefromthe1999populationandhousingcensus

Net inter-provincial migration rate (‰)

10I NTERNAL M IGRAT ION IN V IETNAM: THE CURRENT S I TUAT ION

Mostmigrantsareyoungadults;withover one-half of all migrants less than 25 years old.Theinformationdisplayedinthefigurebelow shows that the concentration of migrants at youngadultagesishighestformigrationfromruraltourbanareas.Womenalso tend tomigrateat slightlyyoungerages thandomen.

Althoughmostmigrantsaremale,the level of female migration is increasing and the number of women moving to urban areas and industrial zones has begun to exceed the number of men.Migrants, because they are young, tend to be single. Thisisparticularlysoformigrationtourbanareas.Migrationtoruralareas,especiallythatsupportedbythegovernment,ismorelikelytoinvolvefamilies.

Approximately11.4percentofmalesand17percentoffemales aged 20-24 changed the place where they livedduring theperiod1994-1999.This levelwasevenhigherforrural-to-urbanmigrationofwomen,andindicatesahighdemandforfemalelabourforindustrialandservicesectors

11I NTERNAL M IGRAT ION IN V IETNAM: THE CURRENT S I TUAT ION

in the large cities. Jobs creation, especially in industry,is concentrated in and around large cities and this drawsyoung women, who appear to be preferred for factoryemployment,tocitiesandindustrialareas.Thereisalsoacommonperceptionthatmigrantsfromruralareas tend tobe thepoorestand leastqualifiedofpeople.Butthe1999Censusandthe2004VietNamMigrationSur-veyshowedtheopposite.Migrants tend to have higher levels of education than non-migrants living in rural areas and have similar levels of education to non-migrants living in urban areas. Migrants are not drawn from the poorest and leastqualifiedoftheruralpopulation.Rather,theyaregenerallythe most qualified of the rural population. Overall, levelsof migration increase with levels of education, as can beclearlyseeninthefollowingfigureusingdatafromthe1999Census.

Information from the 2004 Viet Nam Migration Surveyfoundlittledifferenceintheeducationallevelsofmigrantsandnon-migrantsinthemajordestinationareas.Forexample,among thoseaged15-59,46percentofnon-migrantsand44percentofmigrantshadcompletedGrade10educationorhigher.

Per c

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1�I NTERNAL M IGRAT ION IN V IETNAM: THE CURRENT S I TUAT ION

Decision to migrate

Thefirstmovegenerallyoccursatayoungageandismostlyrelated to employment or education. The first move wasmade at a younger age for those in provincial and districttowns than those living in large cities or rural areas. Thisisprobablyrelatedtoyoungpeoplemovingfromprovincialanddistricttownstocitiesinordertogethighereducation.

The importance of economic reasons in the decision to migrate is clearly seen from the 2004 survey data. Seven in tenmigrantseithermovedforemploymentortoimprovelivingconditions.Onlyabout13percentmovedforfamilyreasonsandmanyofthesemovedbecausetheyweremovingwithotherfamilymembers,suchasahusband,whowasprobablymovingforeconomicreasons.Asmallerpercentagemovedformarriage.Amongtheotherreasonsformigrationwasasignificantproportionthatmigratedtofurthertheireducation,whilemanyparentsmigratedtoimproveeducationalopportunitiesfortheirchildren.

Main Reasons for Moving

16%


Overall, the majority of migrants move to improve their working and living conditions, not because they are unemployed.Althoughmigrantsmainlymoveforeconomicreasons,unemploymentintheirplacesoforiginisnotamajorreasonformoving.Mostmigrantswereworkingbeforetheymigrated.Slightlylessthan10percentsaidthatthemainreasonformigrationwasbecausetheycouldnotfindworkintheirareaoforigin.

MostpeoplewhomovewithinVietNamdonotmakethedecisiontomigratesolelybythemselves.Strongfamilytiesmean thatother familymembersplayamajor rolein the decision to migrate. The involvement of familymembers in thedecision tomovecanalsobeexpectedbecause migration provides valuable resources to thefamily. About two-thirds of male migrants and 80 percentoffemalemigrantsreportedthatotherpeoplewereinvolvedintheirdecisiontomigrate.

The decision to migrate also requires information aboutpotentialdestination. It isclear thatmigrants inVietNamhave many sources of information and that they use thisinformation in thedecisionaboutwhere tomove.Mostofthe sources of information are relatives and friends, andalmost20percenthadpreviouslyvisitedtheplacethattheymovedto.Another14percentreportedmassmediaastheirsourceofinformation.Onlyonepercentstatedthattheyhadreceived information from government or private employ-mentoffices.So even though most people move to get a better job, most do not get information from employment agencies before they move.Thespreadofmassmediaintoruralareasisprovidinganadditionalsourceofinformationtopotentialmigrantsaboutwheretomove.


Resultsfromthe2004VietNamMigrationSurveyshowthat74percentofmigrantshadonlymovedonce.Manywereun-sureaboutwhethertheywouldstayintheplacetowhichtheyhadmoved.Onlyoneintwostatedthattheywouldstayperma-nentlyintheirdestination,whilemostoftheotherswereunsureabout whether they would stay permanently. However, onlyabout13percentstatedthattheywoulddefinitelystaylessthen10years.ThissuggeststhatthevastmajorityofmigrationinVietNamresultsinpermanentchangeofresidenceandthattheauthoritiesshouldhelpthesenewresidentsleadasettledlifeintheirnewdestinations.

The survey also found that over 90 per cent of migrants who moved from rural areas to cities came directly to the city, without first moving to smaller urban areas.Thisshowsthestrongattractionoflargecitiesforyoungpeopleinruralareasandalsosuggeststhatsmallerurbanareasdonothavetheemployment and educational opportunities necessary toattractruralmigrants.

Adjustment to life in the destination

Migrantsdonotarriveat theirdestinationwithoutcontactsorinformation.Resultsfromthe2004VietNamMigrationSurvey showed that three in four migrants already knewsomeone in the place where they moved. More than one-halfmovedwithotherpeople, usually friends.Onlyaboutone-third moved alone. The migrants used their personalcontactstohelpthemintheinitialperiodaftertheyarrivedin their destination.Thesenetworkshelpdraw those fromtheruralareawhohavethebestopportunitiesforemploymentinurbanareas.


Asaresultoftheinformationtheyhadandtheirsocialnetworksatthedestination,mostmigrantsdidnotreportanydifficultiesafter they arrived. The percentage reporting difficulties wasvery high for those migrants who moved to the CentralHighlands (around 80 per cent) but much lower for urbandestinations.Ofthosethatdidfaceproblems,themainproblemin most areas related to obtaining suitable housing. Only formigrants to theCentralHighlandswasgettingaccess topaidemploymentreportedasaproblem.In general, all the evidence from the migration survey showed that migrants to the Central Highlands, many of whom were helped to move by government resettlement schemes, had the most trouble adjusting to their new places of residence.

About three in four migrants who faced problems aftermigrationreportedthattheyhadexpectedtheseproblems.Amongthesmallnumberofmigrantswhosaidthattheydidnotexpecttofaceproblems, two-thirdssaidtheystillwouldhave moved even if they had known about the problems.Thissuggeststhatalmostallmigrantscaneasilyadapttothedifficultiestheyfacewhenmoving.

Whenmigrantsdidfacedifficulties,almostallreliedontheirpersonal networks to solve the problem. Only 11 per centof migrants who sought assistance to solve their problemsapproachedlocalgovernmentauthoritiesforhelp.Thepercentage of migrants that sought assistance from otherformal sources (Labour Regulation Office, Trade Union,Projectsand/orprogrammes)wasverysmall.Thus, it’s clear that migrants receive little formal assistance to help them overcome problems related to migration.

Findingsuitablehousingaftertheymovewasamajorproblem


formanymigrants.Atthetimeofthesurvey,62 per cent of migrants were living in semi-permanent housing, with over 55 per cent living in boarding houses or similar rented accommodation. And compared to non-migrants, migrants were less likely to have access to good sanitation and water.

Once they arrive in their destinations, migrants lose littletimeingettingajob.Forthosewhomovedtoobtainemployment,almost nine in ten had found work in the first month afterthey arrived, and one-quarter had gotten a job in the firstweekafterarrival.Mentendtofindworkmorerapidlythando women, and those migrants, men or women, withpermanent household registration were able to get jobsmorequicklythanthosewithtemporaryhouseholdregistration.Ultimately, it appeared that many migrants had alreadyarrangedemploymentbeforetheymoved.

Unemployment rates for thoseseekingworkaregenerallylowandare similar formigrants andnon-migrants.At thetimeofthe2004VietNamMigrationSurvey,approximatelyonepercentofmigrantsandnon-migrantswereunemployed.Migrantsarealsomorelikelythannon-migrantstojointhelabourforce,andthisisespeciallysoforwomen,with87percentoffemalemigrantsworking,comparedtoonly78percentoffemalenon-migrants.

Per c

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Work and income

InVietNam,bothpublicandprivateemploymentagencieshavebeenestablished tohelppeople findwork.Asnotedabove,lessthantwopercentofmigrantsusedemploymentagenciestoobtaininformationabouttheplacetowheretheyweremoving.Inpartthisappearstoresultfromtheinformationaboutemployment thatmigrants alreadyhave from their friendsandrelatives.Butitisalsorelatedtothelowawarenessoftheseagencies.Inthefollowingfigure,only12percentofmigrantswereawareofgovernmentemploymentagenciesandaboutthesamenumber(12percent)wasawareofprivateemploymentagencies.

Ofthosewhowereawareofemploymentagencies,slightlylessthan60percentusedthem.InVietNam,employmentagenciesarenotaveryeffectiveresourceforhelpingmigrantsgetwork.This probably results because they don’t make migrantsawareoftheirservices.Itisalsorelatedtoregistrationfeesand the requirement that people using the services haveformal qualifications. Another barrier is the belief amongmigrantsandagenciesthatmigrantsneedpermanenthouseholdregistration in theplace theyare living inorder touse theservices.


Most migrants are concentrated in low-skilled work whenthey first arrive. Sixty per cent of migrants worked inunskilledoccupations(elementaryoccupations)intheirfirstjobafterarrival.Mostofthesejobswerelocatedinsmall-scaleenterprises or were self-employment, with 55 per cent ofmenand45percentofwomenworkinginthissectoraftermigrating.About one-quarter of women worked in foreign-investedorganizationsaftermigration,indicatingtheimportanceofthissectorindrawingfemalemigrantsfromruralareas.

Afterbecomingadjustedto life in theirdestinations,manymigrantsmovetomoreskilledwork.Thefigurebelowshowshowtheproportioninskilled,professionalandsemi-professionaloccupationsincreasedovertimeaftermigration.Formanypeople,especiallythosefromruralareas,migrationisawaytoincreasetheirskillsandobtainbetterjobs.


Bylaw,peopleinpaidemploymentarerequiredtohavelabourcontracts with their employers. These contracts providesomelevelsofprotectionforworkers.Overall,non-migrantswere more likely than migrants to have labour contracts.Approximately79percentofmigrantsand83percentofnon-migrantsinthepaidlabourforcehadcontracts.Femaleworkersweremorelikelythanmentohavelabourcontracts,perhapsbecausetheyaremorelikelytobefoundinindustrialemployment.

Migrationalsoincreasesincomes.Over 80 per cent of migrants stated that their incomes after migration were higher or much higher than before they migrated.And increases in incomeoccurredforthosefromalleducationalcategories,includingthe illiterate.These increases in incomeweregreatest forthose working in skilled occupations. Increases were alsohigh for those with temporary household registration,suggestingthateven without permanent household registration the higher income available in destination areas provides a strong incentive to move.

Per c

ent

�0I NTERNAL M IGRAT ION IN V IETNAM: THE CURRENT S I TUAT ION

Even though incomes increasedaftermigration, theaverageincomesofmigrantsweremuchlowerthanthoseofnon-migrants.Partofthisdifferenceappearstoresultfrommigrantsbeingconcentrated in certain jobs where non-migrants areconcentratedinothers,andsuggeststhattheremaybesomediscrimination.Women migrants appear to be at a particular disadvantage in terms of income, earning much less on average than non-migrant women and much less than men in both groups (migrant and non-migrant). Thisdifferenceremainsevenafterfactorssuchasage,educationandoccupationaretakenintoaccount.Thus,moreattentionneedstobepaidtoprotectingthelabourconditionsofwomenmigrants.

Althoughmostmigrantshavestrongsocialnetworksintheirdestinationsandhavegenerallyimprovedtheirlivingstandardscomparedtonon-migrants,theyremainmoreeconomicallyvulnerable thanarenon-migrants.Migrants are less likelytohavesavingsthanarenon-migrantsandaremorelikelytohavedebt.Non-migrantsaremorelikelytoobtaincreditthanmigrants,andamongthosethatdohaveloans,46percentofnon-migrantshave loans fromformal sources (e.g.banks)comparedtoonly22percentamongmigrants.

Thisvulnerabilityismadeworsebecausemigrantsarenotaswelllinkedtogovernmentorotherformalsupportstructures

Ave

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Mon

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Men Women


Satisfaction with migration

Migrantsgenerallyexpresshigh levelsofsatisfactionwiththeirlifeaftermigrationcomparedtobeforemigration.Thisisespeciallysoforsatisfactionwithincomeandworkconditions,whereover80percentofmigrants felt that their lifewas“better” or “much better”. Although levels of satisfactionwerelessinotherareas,onlyineducationandhousingdidasignificantlylownumberofmigrants- less than one-half - saythatthesituationwasbetterormuchbetter.Andonlyforhousingdidsignificantnumber- more than one-quarter -saythatconditionswereworsecomparedtobeforemigration.

asarenon-migrants.Migrantsarealsolesslikelythannon-migrantstouseemploymentagencies,theyhavelessaccesstoloansandtheyaremuchlessinvolvedintradeunions.

Inthe2004VietNamMigrationSurvey,migrantsweremorelikelythannon-migrantstosaythattheyrequiredassistance.Thetypeofassistancethatbothmigrantsandnon-migrantsweremostlikelytoreportaneedforwasaccess to capital. For migrants this was followed by assistance with housing and assistance with obtaining household registration.

Per c

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��I NTERNAL M IGRAT ION IN V IETNAM: THE CURRENT S I TUAT ION

Slightlyover80percentofmigrantsalsoreportedthatcomparedtoworkattheirplaceoforigin,theirpresentworkingsituationwas“better”or“muchbetter”.However,moremigrants thannon-migrantsreportedthattheyintendedtochangetheircurrentjob,mainlybecausetheywantedtoincreasetheirincome.

Younger migrants, those who were single and those withhigherlevelsofeducationweremostlikelytoreportsat-isfactionwithimprovementsintheirlifeaftermigration.Asseenfromotherinformationcollectedinthe2004VietNamMigration Survey, these characteristics are also related tohigherincomeandimprovementsinoccupation.

ManyresearchersstudyingmigrationinVietNamhaveexpressedconcernaboutdifficultiesmigrants face in getting education for their children.Andresultsfromthe2004surveydoshowthattheproportionofschool-agechildrennotattendingschoolishigherfor children of migrants than for children of non-migrants.However, apart from the Central Highlands, the differencesbetweenmigrantsandnon-migrantsarenotgreatandthemainreasonrespondentsgivefortheirchildrennotattendingschooliseconomicratherthanbasedonmigrationalone.

Almost60percentofmigrantswithschool-agechildrensaidthattheirchildren’seducationalopportunitieswere“better”or“muchbetter”aftermigration.Andonlyabout15percentsaidopportunitieswere“worse”or“muchworse”.Again,however,thereweresignificantdifferencesamongparentswithdifferentcharacteristics.Forexample, amongmigrantswitheducationbelow secondary school level, one in five said opportunitieswere“worse”or“muchworse”,whileonlysevenpercentofthosewithalevel-collegeeducationorhighersaidthateducationalopportunitieswere“worse”or“muchworse”.


Migrant links with home communities

Mostmigrantsremaincloselylinkedwiththeirhomecommunities.Theseconnectionsaremaintainedthroughregularvisitsandthroughotherformsofcommunication.Migrantsalsosendmoneybacktotheirfamiliesandthishelpsmanyruralfamiliesimprovetheirlivingconditions.

Approximately48percentofmalemigrantsand54percentof female migrants sent money back to their families in theyear before the2004VietNamMigrationSurvey.Thepercent-agesendingmoneybackhomewashighestforthosemigrantswhomovedwithoutotherfamilymembers.Asthefigurebelowshows,theamountssentcanbesubstantial.Almost70percentsentoverVND1millioninthepreviousyear.Migrants to urban areas were much more likely to send money back to their families than were migrants to rural areas.

Money sent back home is a large share of total income.Overall, in the 12 months prior to the survey, men sent 10 per cent of their income on average back home while women sent 17 per cent. In theSoutheast IndustrialZone,women sentslightlymorethanone-quarteroftheirincomebackhome.

Amount of money (in VND) sent back home inprevious 12 months

Men Women


Health

Theself-reportedhealthofmigrantswasalittlebetterthanthat of non-migrants. Most migrants and non-migrantsreportedthattheirhealthwasnormal.Tosomeextent,thisisaresultofmigrantsbeingyounger,onaverage,thannon-migrants. Migrants to cities appeared to be healthier thanmigrants to the Central Highlands. A higher proportion ofmigrantsreportedthattheirhealthhadimprovedratherthanworsenedaftermigration.TheonlyexceptionwasformigrationtotheCentralHighlands.

Non-migrants were slightly more likely than migrants tohavehealth insurance.Womenmigrantsweremore likelythannon-migrantwomen tohavehealth insurance.This isprobablya resultof the largenumbersof femalemigrantsworkinginfactories,wherehealthinsuranceisoftenprovided.Amongmen,migrantswerelesslikelythannon-migrantstohavehealthinsurance.

Themainuseofthemoneysentbackhomebymigrantswastobuydailynecessities.However,thesecondandthirdmajoruseswereforhealthcareandeducation.Aboutone-thirdofmigrantsreportedthattheirfamiliesusedthemoneytopayforhealthcarecostsandaboutoneinfivesaidthatthemoneywasusedtopayeducationexpenses.These results show that money sent back home from migrants is a valuable source of income for millions of rural Vietnamese households and that this money helps families keep out of poverty by providing the resources to meet their daily living costs and improve the knowledge and health of family members. This use of remittances not only helps the families of migrants but can also help the development of rural communities.


Amongmigrants,alargerpercentagewascoveredbyhealthinsuranceaftermigrationthanbeforemigration.Again,thisreflectsthatmanymigrantsmovefromoccupationssuchasagriculture,wheretheydonothavehealthinsurance,tojobsinformalemploymentwherehealthinsuranceisavailable.However, there needs to be a greater focus of concern on the approximately two-thirds of migrants without health insurance. Most of these are concentrated in low-paid work in the informal sector.

Aroundone-halfofmigrantssaidthathealthcareaftermigrationwas“better”or“muchbetter”thanbeforemigration.Butabout15percentsaidthatitwas“worse”or“muchworse”.Thosemostlikelytosaythathealthcareaftermigrationwereworseormuchworsewerethosemigrantswithlowerlevelsofeducation.Thisindicatesthatfortheleastqualifiedofmigrants,accesstoqualityhealthcarecanbeaproblem.Atthetimeoflastsickness,non-migrantsweremuchmorelikelythanmigrantstohavevisitedahealthprovider, while migrants were more likely to self-medicate.Astatisticalanalysisfoundthattheoddsofusingahealthfacilitywhensickwere19 per cent lower for migrants than for non-migrants.The same analysis also found that a lack of health insurance and low income were major factors for not using a health facility when sick.


Amongthosewhosoughttreatmentathealthfacilities,migrants were more likely than non-migrants to seek treatment at private sources whilenon-migrantsweremorelikelytoseektreatmentatpublicfacilities.Withinthepublicsector,non-migrantsweremorelikelythanmigrantstoseektreatmentathealthfacilities,suchasstatehospitals,whichareperceivedasprovidingbetterqualityservices.

Knowledgeaboutsexuallytransmittedinfections(STIs)washigh,withwellover80percentofmigrantsandnon-migrantsreportingthattheyhadever-heardofgonorrhea,syphilisandhepatitis.The groups with the lowest levels of awareness were women migrants and migrants to the Southeast Industrial Zone.Although there isahigh levelofcorrectknowledgeaboutthetransmissionofSTIs,thereremainsignificantlevelsofincorrectknowledge,with25percentofmigrantsbelievingthatsharingatoothbrushortowelcantransmitSTIs.

Levels of awareness of HIV/AIDS are even higher thanthoseobservedforSTIs,withover97percentofmigrantsand non-migrants reporting that they know of HIV/AIDS.The mass media, particularly television, is the most citedsourceofinformationaboutHIV/AIDS.Thegreatmajorityofrespondentsinthe2004surveyknewofthemainmodesof transmissionofHIV.However, approximatelyone-fifthbelievedthatthebiteofamosquitocouldtransmittheinfection.

Only about 18 per cent of migrants - compared to 23 per cent of non-migrants - had heard about HIV/AIDS from health workers. This result indicates that the government shouldimprove public communication on health information andthat itshouldmoreeffectively targethealth informationatmigrants.


Prevalence of contraception among currently married women migrants is lower than that of their non-migrant counterparts.Contraceptivemethodschosenaresimilaramongmigrantsandnon-migrants,althoughmigrantsareslightlymorelikelytouseIUDsandthepill,andarelesslikelytousemalesterilization.

Sixty-five per cent of current migrant contraceptive usersobtainedthesefromthepublicsector,comparedto14percentwhoobtainedthemfromtheprivatesector;21percentwhoobtainedtheirsfromothersources(friends/relatives/others).Aswithhealthcareingeneral,migrantsalsoaremorelikelythannon-migrantstogetcontraceptivesfromcommunehealthcentersandarelesslikelytogotogovernmenthospitals.

Household registration

Theimpactofhouseholdregistrationonthelivesofmigrantsseemstohavebeenchanginginrecentyears.Althoughnon-registrationofpermanenthouseholdhasbeenviewedasabarriertopublicservices,particularlyeducationandhealthcare,fewmigrantsinthe2004VietNamMigrationSurveyreportedthisasaproblem.Yetitalsoappearsthatmigrantsarelesslikelytousepublicservicesthanarenon-migrants.Andthismaymeaninfactthattheyarepayingforservicesbecausetheylackregistration.

Whilemanymigrantsunsureabouthowlongtheywillstayintheirplaceofdestinationmaynotseekmorepermanenthouseholdregistration, it isclear thatbureaucraticobstaclesandrefusalofregistrationisacommonexperienceformany,especially those with limited qualifications. Among those with no household registration at their destination, 46 per


cent said they did not have permission to register, almost 20 per cent said that they had applied but the process was not completed, and eight per cent said the procedures were too complicated.

The main difficulty reported by those without permanenthousehold registrationwasaccess tocredit.Theyalsohaddifficulty renting suitable accommodation, acquiring land,finding work and even registering their motorbikes. Andalthoughtheinfluenceofhouseholdregistrationonthelivesofmigrants,again,appearstobedeclining,thereremainsaneed tofurther reducewhatbarriersexistso thatmigrantscan obtain the same quality of services provided to non-migrants.

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Conclusion

The knowledge gained over last decade from census data, in addition to the information from the 2004 Viet Nam Migration Survey, clearly suggests that movement from rural to urban areas will increase in Viet Nam. Botheconomicpoliciesthatconcentrateeconomicgrowthinandaroundurbanareasandthelimitedworkandeducationopportunitiesinruralareasmeanthatmanypeoplefromruralareaswilllookforworkinurbanareasandmanyemployersinurbanareaswillactivelyrecruitworkersfromruralareas.

A minority of migrants to urban areas face difficulties upon arrival and the great majority report that their lives have im-proved because of their move.Migrantsusepersonalnetworksthat linkruralandurbancommunities inVietNamtohelpthemgetworkandhousingwhentheyarrive.Veryfewpeo-pleturntothegovernmentorotherformalsourcesforassist-ancetohelpthemfindemploymentorovercomeproblemstheyfaceasaresultofmigration.Mostmigrantsalsosendmoneyandgoodsbacktotheirruralfamilies.Thishelpsru-ral people lead better lives and helps them pay for betterhealthcareandeducation.

However, some migrants still face difficulties after theymove.Manyofthesedifficultiesaretheresultofadministrativeregulations,suchasthehouseholdregistrationsystem,whichlimitmigrants’abilitytofindemployment,obtaincredit,andfindsuitablehousing.Elimination of these restrictions would improve the life for migrants and would also improve social and living conditions in destination areas. Strengthening the formal systems that can provide support to migrants who are


seeking employment and housing, meanwhile, would also make migrants more productive in their new environments.

Migrants may require special attention because of their more limited experience and knowledge in some areas.Forexam-ple, the survey results suggest that the knowledge amongyoung female migrants on sexually transmitted infectionsis lacking.Migrants are also in a more vulnerable position than non-migrants because they have fewer resources, lower incomes, less savings and more debt. The surveys provideindirectevidenceofdiscriminationagainstmigrants in thelabour forceaswell.Femalemigrants inparticularappeartoreceivewagesthataremuchlowerthanwhattheyshouldreceivegiventheirlevelofeducation.

One group of migrants that requires special attention is those moving to rural areas.Inthe2004VietNamMigrationSur-vey,thisgroupwasrepresentedbymigrantstotheCentralHighlands, a major destination for government-supportedresettlement.Comparedtoothermigrants,thosepeoplethatmovedtotheCentralHighlandsfacedmoredifficulties,hadtheleasteconomicsuccessandhadpoorerhealth.

Internal migration in Viet Nam affects the lives of all people in the country.AllVietnameseareeithermigrantsorinteractwithmigrants,andmigrationisanimportantpartoftheeco-nomicandsocialdevelopmentofthecountry.Becauseofthecentralrolethatinternalmigrationplaysinthedevelopmentofindividuals,communitiesandsocietyasawhole,itisim-portanttocontinuouslyupdateourknowledgeaboutmigra-tion in Viet Nam. This knowledge should then be used to enact policies that contribute to improved lives for all Vietnamese, both migrants and non-migrants.


Sources ConsultedCCSC(CentralCensusSteeringCommittee).1991.Completed Census Results, VolumeI.VietNamPopulationCensus1989.Hanoi.

CCSC(CentralCensusSteeringCommittee).1999.The 1999 Census of Viet Nam at a Glance: Preliminary Results.TheGioiPublishers,Hanoi.

CCSC(CentralCensusSteeringCommittee).2000.Population and Housing Census Viet Nam 1999: Sample Results.TheGioiPublishers,Hanoi.

GeneralStatisticalOfficeand theUnitedNationsPopulationFund.2005.The 2004 Viet Nam Migration Survey: Major Findings, GSO,Hanoi.

GeneralStatisticalOfficeand theUnitedNationsPopulationFund.2006.The 2004 Viet Nam Migration Survey: The Quality of Life of Migrants,GSO,Hanoi.

GeneralStatisticalOfficeand theUnitedNationsPopulationFund.2006.The 2004 Viet Nam Migration Survey: Migration and Health,GSO,Hanoi.

GeneralStatisticalOfficeand theUnitedNationsPopulationFund.2006.The 2004 Viet Nam Migration Survey: Internal Migration and Related Life Course Events,GSO,Hanoi.

Documents

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