This case study was undertaken as part of a research project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) (2008-2010) and the Australian Government, (AusAID, under the Australian Development Research Awards 2008) (2008-2011), looking at gender and social protection effectiveness in Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

This case looks at Viet Nam where over the past five years there has been a growing policy momentum around social protection issues, motivated by a concern to reduce poverty and vulnerability emphasised in the country's first and second phase national development plans, the Socio-Economic Development Plans (SEDP 1 2001-2005 and SEDP 2 2006-2010). Viet Nam now has an array of social protection programmes in place which include social assistance programmes such as the National Targeted Programme for Poverty Reducation (NTPPR).

The focus of this report is on the government's flagship programme, the NTPPR, which seeks to address a range of deprvations experienced by poor households and communities, and to improve their productive capacities. The purpose is to analyse the extent to which gender-specific economic and social risks, including food security, inform NTPPR programme design and implementation, with the aim of informing ongoing initiatives to strengthen social protection effectiveness.