Illustrative image (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – On behalf of the Prime Minister, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung on July 23 submitted the proposed investment plan for the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction for 2021 - 2025, and Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) Committee for Social Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh delivered a verification report on this issue.
Accordingly, the proposed funding is cut down to 75 trillion VND (3.26 billion USD) from 90.26 trillion VND.
Major achievements support efforts to ease poverty
Minister Dung said the Party and State had identified sustainable poverty reduction as a major, important, and consistent policy during the national reform, construction, and development.
Over the past years, thanks to all-level authorities’ attention, the entire political system’s engagement, and the whole people’s efforts, the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction for 2016 - 2020 has reaped in many outstanding achievements.
During the period, the household poverty rate was brought down from 9.88 percent in 2015 to 2.75 percent in 2020, the poverty rate among ethnic minority households declined by 4 percent annually, and more than 8 million people got out from poverty.
The household poverty rate in poor districts fell to 23.42 percent in late 2020, down 5.4 percent annually on average. Thirty-two poor districts got rid of the particularly disadvantaged status, while 125 communes with special difficulties in coastal and insular areas were recognised as new-style rural areas between 2016 and 2020.
Notably, Vietnam applied the multidimensional poverty measurement for the first time, becoming one of the 30 countries doing so. It also achieved the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal on hunger eradication and poverty reduction ahead of schedule, and was described as a bright spot in poverty alleviation in the world by the international community.
The abovementioned outcome holds great significance as it affirms the Party, NA, Government, and entire people’s strong resolve to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty, demonstrating the superiority and good nature of the regime, Dung stressed.
However, he admitted, apart from those attainments, many poor districts and communes in coastal and insular areas have yet to get out of the particularly disadvantaged status. Located in remote areas, they have underdeveloped economy, society, and infrastructure, along with high household poverty rates.
Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung (Photo: VNA) Some districts with rates higher than 40 percent include Muong Nhe of Dien Bien province (59.97 percent), Nam Po of Dien Bien (51.74 percent), Ky Son of Nghe An (42.21 percent), and Dong Van of Ha Giang (41.96 percent). The rates of households falling or relapsing into poverty as a result of natural disasters, epidemics, and diseases are still high.
Meanwhile, resources for poverty reduction efforts have yet to meet demand, the minister noted, highlighting the urgency of the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction for 2021 - 2025 to maintain the achievements obtained and address current shortcomings in the work.
Striving to halve poor, near-poor households
Minister Dung said the reduced funding of 75 trillion VND consists of 48 trillion VND from the central budget and the remaining 12.69 trillion VND from local budgets.
The programme will be carried out nationwide, with a focus on impoverished districts and communes with special difficulties in coastal and insular areas.
It looks to halve the number of poor and near-poor households compared to the period’s beginning according to the multidimensional poverty criteria, lift 30 percent of the poverty-stricken communes in coastal and insular areas out of the particularly disadvantaged status, provide training for 60 percent of working-age people in disadvantaged areas, and help 100 percent of those from poor and near-poor households and those that have just escaped poverty to access vocational training.
The programme features six projects and 11 sub-projects, Dung said.
Reducing households falling, relapsing into poverty
Verifying the Government’s report, the NA Committee for Social Affairs basically agreed on the need for the programme.
Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh (Photo: VNA) Delivering the verification report, Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh said to secure truly sustainable poverty reduction, it is a must to reduce the rate of households falling or relapsing into poverty.
Therefore, the programme needs to include solutions for sustainable poverty reduction to help the poor stay resilient to challenges caused by natural disasters ad epidemics, she said, suggesting creating more jobs for the poor, ensuring at least one sustainable job for each household, and facilitating impoverished households’ sustainable access to basic social services.
The Committee asked the Government to make sure the funding for the programme is not disrupted but used for right purposes, and guarantee the feasibility of the allocation of 7 trillion VND from the central budget for the programme in 2021 to avoid interruption to programme implementation.
The Government should not mobilise too much funding from local budgets as most of the localities are facing difficulties in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, the committee said.
It also told the Government to arrange more capital for the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to provide concessional loans for the targeted groups of the programme./.
