Ha Noi, 7 August 2017 – A high-level forum on realising economic opportunities from sustainable management of natural forests was held by the Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Central Economics Committee, and the United Nations with the support from the UN-REDD Programme and other partners including the Viet Nam Private Sector Forum. The Forum was attended by representatives from the Government ministries, business associations, enterprises, financial institutions, international organizations, and forest owners.

Ha Noi 12 July 2017 – The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam and HATCH! VENTURES announced today the SDG Challenge 2017 - a competition and acceleration program to encourage young people to develop and innovate business solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG Challenge 2017 aims to find innovative business ideas with global scalability and high social impact to realize SDGs. Present at the launching event were young entrepreneurs, representatives of 2030 Youth Force in Viet Nam, private sector partners and the media. Leaders from UNDP Viet Nam, HATCH! VENTURES and partners provided information about the SDGs and its approach through an interactive discussion and case study presentation.

Inspired by #HowAbnormal campaign jointly organized by Viet Nam’s Student Newspaper and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of Arena Multimedia, the photo exhibition “Women Can Do” is to abolish gender stereotypes that are putting both women and men in certain ways of being, thus hampering their ability to fully realize their potentials. The exhibition opening launches at 5:00 PM, Friday March 24, 2017 at Vietnam Women’s Academy, 68 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Hanoi and ends on April 10, 2017.

Ms. Ha Thi Huyen is the Deputy Chair of the Women’s Union in the Thanh Mai Commune. Like many other farmers in the mountainous provinces of the Northern Region of Vietnam, she is very familiar with riverbank erosion and failing roads. The region often experiences intense storms, and the resulting floods can damage infrastructure. With the frequency and the severity of these natural events intensifying, Huyen’s family and community have been struggling to maintain their livelihoods.

Findings from the 2016 PAPI Report, released today, show positive trends in public service delivery, particularly in the number of citizens receiving public health insurance and in the reported quality of primary schools. However, citizens are more concerned about the environment than in past years, and weaknesses remain in citizen engagement in decision-making, government accountability, and control of corruption in the public sector.

A recent study in Viet Nam shows that on average 30 percent of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) respondents reported being denied employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Establishing a network of civil society organizations and business leaders, reviewing the current anti-discrimination laws, and examining benchmarking standards, such as a workplace equality index, were among the recommendations to promote diversity in business, made at the “Executive Dialogue: Implementing LGBTI inclusion in Asia” held in Ha Noi on 17 January.

The new UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to Viet Nam, Mr. Kamal Malhotra, today presented his credentials to the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, His Excellency Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc. During the presentation of his credentials, Mr. Malhotra thanked the Prime Minister for accepting him promptly and congratulated Viet Nam on its significant progress in poverty reduction, governance and other areas in the past 30 years since the Doi Moi reforms.

Ha Noi, 16 Jan 2017 – The United Nations in Viet Nam is delighted to announce that Mr. Kamal Malhotra assumed his new position as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on 11 January 2017. Mr. Malhotra has been the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Turkey for the period from April 2013 to Dec 2016. Prior to this appointment (late October 2008-31 March 2013), he was the UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia; UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam and UNFPA Representative for Malaysia.

Ha Noi, 12 January 2017 - The Green Growth Coordination Meeting - Reporting on the implementation of the Viet Nam Green Growth Strategy (2012-2016) was held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting was attended by representatives from Government agencies and ministries, selected provinces/cities and international development agencies in Viet Nam.

“For the first 30kWh per month, a minimal price should be set for all electricity users per month and cash transfer should be eliminated”, recommends a policy discussion paper launched today by the Centre for Analysis and Forecasting of Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences (CAF/VASS) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme in Viet Nam (UNDP) and the British Embassy in Ha Noi.

Ha Noi, 16 December 2016 – The Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have held an important review workshop on how lessons from implementation of...

At the fifth Responsible Business Forum, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today called on business leaders to take a greater role in the new development era in order to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Forum, opened in Singapore by UNDP and Global Initiatives, aims to address a sea change in the nature of development funding by creating a new partnership for sustainable development.

While foreign funding (Official Development Assistance) is still essential for the development system, it now accounts for 0.7 percent of total financial flows in Asia-Pacific (down from 13.5 percent in 1990), while domestic public and private finance accounts for 89 percent, according to a UNDP report launched last month.

It is one year since every country in the world signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals. They form a blueprint for addressing the most significant challenges facing our planet and its people. Challenges like climate change. This is likely to be the hottest year on record and here in Asia, climate change is a cause of the natural disasters that have claimed half a million lives in the last decade. Challenges like inequality, which has been growing for four-fifths of Asia-Pacific’s population over the last 20 years. Challenges brought on by the accelerating process of ageing, which will make it harder for many Asian states to provide basic services to their people. The 17 SDGs will address these challenges and other interlinked issues, including education, hunger and security. But governments cannot implement this blueprint on their own. Nor can the UN and other development organizations.

Viet Nam has integrated the implementation of 2030 Agenda in National Assembly’s resolutions and the Government’s guidance documents. This information was shared at the Consultation Workshop on the draft National Action Plan to Implement the 2030 Agenda in Ha Noi this morning, by the representative of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the agency assigned by the Government to lead coordination of all stakeholders for the Agenda 2030’s implementation in Viet Nam.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia-Pacific Development Effectiveness Facility (AP-DEF) opened a two-day meeting on aid ahead of the upcoming Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. More than 100 government delegates and development experts are exploring how to design integrated national financing frameworks for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia-Pacific. “Domestic sources of finance are emerging as a key driving force for sustainable development in Asia-Pacific,” said Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Director for Asia and the Pacific. “These new sources of finance allow us to expand the existing development cooperation and partnership.”

Ha Noi, 24 Oct 2016 - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Viet Nam (MONRE) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) hosted the workshop today in Ha Noi on “IPCC achievements and Viet Nam actions in climate...

Ha Noi, 1 September 2016 - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) jointly organised a consultation workshop with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf...

In the past families were identified as poor simply by measuring their level of income. But thanks to a new ‘multi-dimensional approach to poverty’ recently introduced nationwide by the Government of Viet Nam, more vulnerable families are able to receive emergency support. Le Thi Yen Dan and her family, fighting the...

Ha Noi, 1 September 2016 – First fair showcasing the scaling-up of green innovations was held today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the Green One UN House. Representatives from 15 projects supported by the Global Environment Facility-UNDP Small Grants Programme (UNDP/GEF SGP) and...

For the past 8 months, communities in Ben Tre Province of Viet Nam have been experiencing the most severe drought and saline intrusion in more than 60 years.  With water sources dried up or saline contaminated, many of the poorest families have been forced to buy fresh water for their daily needs, at a price...

Check out each SDGs and the stories around them

Ha Noi June 29th, 2016 - Inmates who are released back into the community after long prison sentences face a wide variety of problems, many of which can be addressed with improved access to legal services. This was highlighted by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law Legal Consultancy Center and the UN...

Ha Noi, 24 May 2016 – The Viet Nam’s renewable energy has tremendous potential. Right national policies and incentives would enable and encourage large investments to fully maximize and deliver on the promise and co-benefits of renewable energy. This was agreed by participants in a workshop on renewable energy...