ILO Brief: Building an inclusive future: Social protection as a catalyst for disability empowerment in Viet Nam

Viet Nam stands out among lower-middle-income countries for its strong progress in disability-inclusive social protection, achieving broad coverage through coordinated social assistance, social insurance, and health insurance measures, based on a community-based disability determination system aligned with international best practices.

Despite remarkable progress in both coverage and benefit levels, disability-related extra costs continue to pose challenges to the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities. Improving benefit adequacy (especially for persons with severe disabilities) and expanding coverage (in particular for persons with mild disabilities) should continue be considered as key priorities going forward.

Further strengthening the link between social protection and employment policies will be essential to support labour force participation, inclusion, and economic empowerment of persons with disabilities through decent work.