Cash assistance helps typhoon-affected women in Viet Nam rebuild livelihoods

Date: Monday, 18 May 2026

A group of adults sit closely together indoors, facing forward. Several people are clapping their hands. They are wearing warm jackets and sweaters in red, blue, and dark colors. The room has a tiled floor and light-colored walls. More people are seated in rows in the background, and a few standing figures are visible further back.

Vulnerable women affected by consecutive typhoons in Nghe An, Viet Nam receive cash assistance from UN Women. Photo: UN Women/Hoang Bich Thao

In September and October 2025, Viet Nam endured a relentless series of storms – Kajiki, Bualoi, Matmo and Fengshen – killing 419 people, injuring another 730, damaging 348,000 houses, and flooding over 840,000 hectares of crops and other plants.

The Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority estimates the total economic losses at VND 98,700 billion (around USD 3.8 billion). The back-to-back storms caused severe damage to agriculture, housing and basic infrastructure, with vulnerable women among the hardest hit.

When floodwaters rose rapidly after Typhoon Bualoi, Ho Thi Hong never imagined that even her hilltop home would be threatened.

“For more than 60 years, I have never seen floods rise so fast,” said Hong, a poor 70-year-old woman living with her husband. In front of her house are two small rice fields – the couple’s only source of livelihood. During the flood, the fields were submerged under six to seven metres of water, while water reached the edge of their courtyard.

That night, heavy rain continued as water rose quickly. “My husband and I sat soaked in the rain through the night. Our son had to wade through floodwater to move us to safety.”

What Hong mourned most was losing her livestock – a flock of chickens and two pigs nearly ready for sale. “Those pigs could have earned tens of millions of VND,” she said. With that income, she’d hoped to repair her leaking roof. “When my son told me not to go back because it was too dangerous, I cried.”

Two adults stand outdoors in a green garden area. One adult wears a blue vest with the words 'UN Women' printed on the back and places a hand on the shoulder of another adult wearing a brown jacket. They are surrounded by plants and banana trees. Low fencing and leafy crops are visible in the foreground. Sunlight falls across the plants and the people.

UN Women staff visit households of vulnerable women affected by consecutive typhoons in Nghệ An, delivering cash assistance to support their recovery. Photo: UN Women/Hoang Bich Thao

Hong is among the 487 vulnerable women-headed households in two typhoon-affected communes of Nghe An Province that received cash grants of VND 4.4 million (168 USD) each from UN Women – delivered through the Nghệ An Red Cross – to rebuild their livelihoods.

This assistance, Hong plans to buy two piglets, animal feed and seeds for the coming spring crop.

For Hoang Thi Oanh, 46, the floods struck an already fragile life. A single mother with disabilities, she earned a living from a banana garden, a flock of chickens and occasional domestic work, before the storm.

“This was the first time I saw water rise so fast,” Oanh said. The typhoons submerged her banana garden, broke two-thirds of the trees, ruined vegetables and tore off the roof tiles of her house. “With the support from UN Women, I will replant my banana garden and raise more free-range chickens. That is how I can continue supporting my children’s education.”

At 38, Nguyen Thi Hang is also rebuilding from loss. A single mother with a disability, she lives with her son, who is in grade 12. Floods washed away all crops and her family is in debt from repairing their storm-damaged roof. The storms also nearly destroyed the cattle shed where she raises a cow for her cousin under an agreement that she will receive a calf.

“If the cow dies from the cold, my dream of sending my son to university will disappear,” Hang said. Despite weak health, she’s determined to rebuild the shed and continue raising cattle and poultry. “I must strive for my child’s future.”

To support women affected by the disasters, UN Women provided cash and technical assistance totalling VND 2,245,105,000 (85,000 USD) benefiting 487 households and at least 2,000 people. Cash grants were delivered directly to beneficiaries by the Nghệ An Red Cross and commune-level People’s Committees, prioritizing the most vulnerable families, including women-headed households; pregnant women or women with children under 12 months; people with disabilities or chronic diseases; and women over 65.

In addition to cash support, women and communities also received information on preventing gender-based violence during disasters and sustainable livelihood recovery, helping strengthen resilience against future shocks.