KOICA, IOM support post-disaster housing recovery in Viet Nam

Providing timely support to households severely affected by disasters

Recently, the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Thai Nguyen Red Cross Society, and local authorities, provided cash assistance to households affected by natural disasters in Yen Trach and Hop Thanh communes of Thai Nguyen Province.

This activity is part of an emergency disaster recovery project funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Implemented by IOM in partnership with central and local authorities, the project aims to support households whose homes have been damaged, destroyed, or rendered unsafe by severe natural disasters in Viet Nam's northern mountainous provinces.

With a total budget of nearly VND 7.1 billion, the project is supporting 182 households across the provinces of Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Cao Bang, and Lang Son. In Thai Nguyen alone, 56 households have received assistance. Depending on the extent of the damage, each household is eligible for cash grants of up to VND 100 million to repair or rebuild their homes.

In addition to financial assistance, beneficiary households have participated in training courses on safe housing construction based on the Build Back Better principles. These training programs aim to strengthen the resilience of local communities and enhance their capacity to withstand future disasters.

According to Ms. Kendra Rinas, Chief of Mission of IOM Viet Nam, a safe home provides the foundation for families to regain stability and rebuild their livelihoods with confidence. With the support of the Government of the Republic of Korea, IOM is not only helping households restore their homes but also promoting sustainable recovery solutions that enhance community resilience in the face of increasingly frequent and severe climate-related disasters.

“As the co-lead of the Housing and Non-Food Items sector in Viet Nam, IOM remains committed to working closely with the Government of Viet Nam and our partners to support vulnerable communities on their path toward recovery and sustainable development,” Ms. Kendra Rinas said.

From rebuilding homes to strengthening disaster resilience

Mr. Lee Byung Hwa, Country Director of KOICA Viet Nam, expressed his confidence that the assistance would provide a vital foundation for affected families to restore their lives while enhancing their capacity to cope with future disasters and other unforeseen hazards.

The support also contributes to the Government of Viet Nam's broader efforts to promote safer, more sustainable, and people-centered post-disaster recovery, while strengthening community resilience against the growing impacts of climate change.

According to Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority, the project has addressed the most urgent needs of people affected by the historic storms and floods of 2025.

The distribution of cash grants for home repairs and reconstruction has enabled disaster-affected vulnerable households to immediately access the financial resources needed to restore safer living conditions.

Through a rigorous two-stage beneficiary selection process, with local authorities identifying eligible households and IOM conducting independent verification combined with cash disbursement through the Viet Nam Post network, the assistance has reached those most in need, including poor and near-poor households, female-headed households, and ethnic minority families in disaster-affected communities such as Yen Trach Commune. This approach has helped ensure that support is delivered transparently, efficiently, and directly to the most vulnerable people.

The assistance goes beyond addressing immediate material needs by delivering long-term, sustainable benefits through technical training on safe housing construction. These capacity-building activities help transform the awareness of both local residents and construction workers, equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to build homes that are more resilient to future disasters.

“We will continue to digitize, standardize, and widely disseminate the technical training materials and practical handbooks on safe housing construction developed under this project to other localities that are frequently affected by storms and floods,” said Mr. Nguyen Truong Son.

$ 1 = VND 26,470 - Source: Vietcombank.