Household-level demographic and socio-economic vulnerability in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Central Vietnam

Abstract

This study adopted the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) method using household-level demographic and socio-economic data to measure the vulnerability of rural households in Central Vietnam to the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that most households suffered from a partial or total loss of employment and a remarkable decrease in household income during the challenging time of the COVID-19 spread. The index scores demonstrated which characteristics and which components were more or less responsible for household-level vulnerability. The findings of the study found that low educational attainment of household heads, low engagement in stable jobs and limited access to the support from local government, grassroots organizations and groups were among the most constructing the vulnerability of the surveyed households to the pandemic.The study suggests that any response and adaptation strategies in short-term or long-term should firstly and ultimately pay special attention to building and enhancing household-level capacities and strengthening local governance so that the households and communities can be more resilient to any disastrous events in the future. It also agreed that the SoVI would be a viable technique in measuring place-based vulnerability and providing empirical evidence for more appropriate responses and prevention measures to crisis and pandemic like COVID-19.