Our research shows how Vietnam’s Covid-19 policy response has influenced Vietnamese migrant workers and counter-trafficking work, particularly in border areas. Vietnam is a major labour exporter and is in the top ten countries that receive international remittances. Examining the impact of the pandemic means taking into account the livelihoods and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of overseas migrant workers. This briefing considers the impact of Vietnam’s policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic on such workers and supports adjustments in policy planning.

As in many Southeast Asian countries, the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and policies to limit its spread greatly disrupted Cambodia’s economy. Workers in Cambodia overwhelmingly operate in the informal sector and remittances from migrant workers abroad constitute a significant portion of the country’s overall gross domestic product. This briefing examines Cambodia’s Covid-19 response to highlight how knock-on effects have disproportionately impacted vulnerable migrants and informal domestic workers, including human-trafficking survivors. The government should provide social support to these vulnerable groups. Future efforts to manage Covid-19 must consider how they will affect the most vulnerable.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption globally. Measures to stop the spread of the virus have been necessary, but their knock-on effects have disproportionately affected the most vulnerable. This briefing examines how this dynamic has played out in Myanmar and suggests how to better support these people. The coup in February 2021 caused discontinuity in Covid-19 policy, with disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable. As well as working towards a peaceful settlement, national and international stakeholders should prioritise supporting migrant workers and victims of trafficking.

Every year, countless people become victims of human trafficking. The number is countless because the vast majority of those cases go unidentified and unreported. As a result, victims remain invisible, go unsupported, continue to suffer abuses, and continue to face stigma and trauma even after finding their way out of trafficking. This lack of visibility also makes it difficult to really understand how trafficking works, which seriously hinders international counter trafficking efforts.