This article analyzes the characteristics and status of Vietnam’s social welfare system and makes an assessment and projection that hopefully can help strengthen social welfare policies in Vietnam until 2030. | PHILOSOPHY - LAW - PSYCHOLOGY - SOCIOLOGY Social Welfare in Vietnam: 30 Years in Reform on and Outlook until 2030 Dang Nguyen Anh* Abstract: After 30 years of reform and development, social welfare in Vietnam has achieved certain progress in ensuring the livelihood and safety of its citizens. However, beside these significant accomplishments, the country’s social welfare policies continue to reveal limitations, putting them considerably behind those of many other countries in the world. This article analyzes the characteristics and status of Vietnam’s social welfare system and makes an assessment and projection that hopefully can help strengthen social welfare policies in Vietnam until 2030. Keywords: Vietnam, social welfare, social policies. 1. Introduction In its broadest sense, social welfare is the protection of people’s rights to live in peace, to freely make a living, to reside, to move, to express their opinions within the limits of the law; to be protected and treated equally and fairly by the law; to study, to have employment, shelter; to be ensured an income level that can meet the basic living needs when faced with risks, unemployment, diseases, accidents, old age, etc. According to the World Bank, social welfare is developed based on the social risk management model. A social welfare system is known as the set of national policies that are meant to support individuals, households and social groups to manage risks and provide assistance to the poorest. Accordingly, there are three distinct strategies: risk prevention, risk mitigation and risk coping. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) considers social welfare as a public policy system that aims to mitigate the negative 52 impact of changes on households and individuals. This definition places an emphasis on the role of the state in ensuring social welfare. In the article “Ensuring better social welfare and social security is a main part of the Socio - Economic development strategy for 2011- 2020”, Prime
