Vietnam, South Africa share experience in social insurance development

Deputy General Director of the VSS Tran Dinh Lieu, who is on a working trip to the African nation, said the agency is eager to learn from the SASSA’s experience in the application of information technology (IT) and digital transformation.

He introduced the organisational structure, and development strategies, as well as efforts and achievements of the VSS in expanding the coverage of social insurance schemes and policies to all citizens and all target groups across Vietnam.

The VSS has achieved significant improvements in administrative reform, and accelerated the application of IT and digital transformation in its activities to make it easier for citizens and agencies in implementing insurance procedures, he said.

Latest data of the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) show over 17.4 million Vietnamese people participated in social insurance as of the end of May, accounting for 37.48% of the working-age population, and up 2.7% compared to the same period in 2022.

The insurance sector implemented various flexible solutions to raise the number of people covered by health insurance to approximately 90.69 million people, up 4.43 million compared to the same period last year, he added.

For her part, Chief Executive Officer of the SASSA Busisiwe Memela-Khambula said the agency is willing to share its experiences in applying IT technology in social insurance in South Africa and wants to learn from Vietnam's management and human resource development experience.

She briefed Vietnamese delegates on the comprehensive social security programme of South Africa, which consists of three pillars - social assistance programme, social insurance, and private insurance.

According to Khambula, the SASSA provides monthly income support to over 18.8 million people in South Africa, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, veterans, children, and individuals with difficult circumstances.