Intersectional vulnerabilities and climate-related health risks among informal outdoor workers in urban Vietnam

About the study

This working paper presents the findings from a survey of informal outdoor workers in Vietnam, exploring the extent to which climate change impacts their health, livelihoods and adaptive capacity. 

Informal outdoor workers in low- and middle-income countries are among the most exposed to climate-related health and livelihood risks, yet they remain structurally excluded from formal systems of protection and adaptation. This paper draws on Sen’s capability approach and Venkatapuram’s concept of health capability to examine how intersecting inequalities constrain workers’ real freedoms to maintain well-being under climate stress.

Based on survey data from 400 informal outdoor workers across four Vietnamese cities, logistic regression was used to analyse how economic, social, and human capital shape climate-related health impacts, income loss, and adaptive capacity.

Findings

The findings reveal that chronic illness, low income, insecure housing, limited education, and digital exclusion are significantly associated with increased susceptibility to climate-related health risks and reduced ability to cope. 

Mental health conditions and lack of digital access further constrain perceived coping ability. These patterns reflect not only the impacts of exposure to climate change, but deeper structural constraints on the capabilities required to avoid harm and adapt to it.

This paper contributes a novel perspective to climate-health research and calls for adaptation policies that address the social conditions underlying vulnerability and expand the real freedoms of informal outdoor workers in climate-vulnerable urban contexts.