The New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi has provided financial support for 420 female workers in the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, whose livelihoods and incomes have been affected by the recent Covid-19 outbreak.

Each worker has been provided with VND1 million (US$43.35) in cash to help cover some of their immediate needs.

The assistance aims to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, which has wreaked havoc in the two northern provinces, where hundreds of thousands of people work.

Bac Ninh authorities hand over the aid package to female workers. Photo: VNA

Since April 27, 2021, the fourth wave of Covid-19 has affected many provinces and cities across Vietnam. Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, and Ho Chi Minh City suffered the worst damage. As a result, more than nine million workers in Vietnam have lost their income and many families have fallen into economic hardship.

In Bac Giang alone, almost 200,000 workers have lost their jobs, of whom 67,000 faced especially difficult circumstances as they resided in locked-down areas or quarantine sites.

The New Zealand Embassy has handed over cash to the workers through the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.

"This project demonstrates the strong partnership between New Zealand and Vietnam. I am proud to say that we have been able to support around 3,000 women throughout Vietnam impacted by the pandemic in the last 12 months," said New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson.

It has been the fifth project over the past year that the New Zealand Embassy has deployed to support Vietnamese workers overcome the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The total value of the five projects under the New Zealand Ambassador Fund is nearly VND3.5 billion (US$151,885) for women in Hanoi, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hue, Da Nang, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City.

New Zealand and Vietnam are celebrating 46 years of diplomatic relations this year. Over that time, New Zealand has worked closely with Vietnam to develop prosperity and stability, drawing on the best of New Zealand’s knowledge and skills.