Microfinance and Disaster Preparedness: An Innovative Approach for Housing Preventive Reinforcement against Cyclone and Flood Damages, Viet Nam

This paper presents a case study of a microfinance and disaster preparedness program in Vietnam that used an innovative approach for preventive housing reinforcement against cyclone and flood damages.Tenuous improvements in family and commune conditions amongst the poor in Vietnam are inadequate to cope with the destruction caused by the annual round of storms, typhoons and flooding. The Development Workshop France (DWF) has implemented projects in Thua Thien Hue Province since 1999, to raise prevention awareness among the population and decision makers. This is done through training and demonstration of housing and public facilities reinforcement. Features of this program include:

• Credit system for the families, combined with a partial subsidy of reinforcement works;
• Management of available funds by the family prevention group, organized at hamlet or village level;
• Group decisions on priorities, and the allocation of subsidy /credit amongst families.

The success of this program demonstrates that people repay short term affordable loans for house strengthening, because the safety of their houses and the reduction of vulnerability represent a key component in economic security.