Changing transitions to adulthood in Vietnam's remote northern uplands: A focus on ethnic minority youth and their families [Vietnamese]

Ethnic minorities, who tend to live in remote mountainous areas, account for 15 percent of Vietnam’s 84 million total population and, according to a recent estimate, 61 percent of them are poor. Evidence suggests that despite recent efforts by the Government of Vietnam to promote poverty reduction in remote areas, a majority of ethnic minorities have not yet experienced positive change, contrary to their Kinh (ethnic Vietnamese) neighbors who have enjoyed substantial improvement in living standards. To identify program interventions that promote healthy human development and, in turn, positively affect Vietnam’s economic growth, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the transition to adulthood among this group of young people. This report details the collaboration between social science and public health researchers from the Population Council’s Office in Vietnam and the Center for Research on Health, Disease, and Environment in Mountainous Areas, at Thai Nguyen Medical College. It provides policy-relevant and empirically validated findings on the causes and consequences of change in transitions to adulthood among young people ages 15–29 in Vietnam’s remote Northern Uplands region.