A workshop opened in Hanoi on Dec. 3 to discuss solutions for rapid and sustainable poverty reduction in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2011-2015 period.
Addressing the workshop, Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Giang Seo Phu said the rate of poverty reduction for ethnic minority people was much slower than the national average poverty reduction rate and different ethnic groups had not benefited equally from economic growth, while life expectancy, nutrition and other aspects of the life of the majority of ethnic minority groups remained very low.
“This alerts us to the fact that without big changes in the poverty reduction strategies of the country, in the near future, the majority of poor people in Vietnam will still be those in ethnic minority and mountainous areas,” he added.
The experience of poverty amongst different ethnic minority groups is extremely diverse, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam John Hendra said, adding that culturally sensitive and context specific targeting measures will increasingly be necessary in order to reduce poverty further, to achieve economic, social and cultural development and to efficiently use allocated financial resources.
After nearly two decades of implementing hunger elimination and poverty reduction policies, the number people living in poverty has been significantly reduced, yet the remaining poor people are mainly ethnic minority people and people living in mountainous areas.
The poverty rate in ethnic minority and mountainous areas remains high – 31.2 percent in 2009 against the national poverty rate of 12 percent.
Research showed that people living in ethnic minority and mountainous areas are vulnerable to risks related to economic crises and climate change. Rapid and sustainable poverty reduction for ethnic minority and mountainous areas is therefore an important task for the 2011-2015 period.
The national poverty rate in Vietnam decreased from 58.1 percent in 1993 to below 12 percent in 2009, and the poverty rate of ethnic minority and mountainous areas from 86 percent in 1993 to around 31.2 percent in 2009.
The workshop, jointly held by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the United Nations in Vietnam, discussed challenges in ensuring rapid and sustainable poverty reduction, social security assistance, vulnerability of ethnic minorities to market influences and to the impacts of climate change, and directions for development of ethnic minority human resources for sustainable poverty reduction./.
Addressing the workshop, Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Giang Seo Phu said the rate of poverty reduction for ethnic minority people was much slower than the national average poverty reduction rate and different ethnic groups had not benefited equally from economic growth, while life expectancy, nutrition and other aspects of the life of the majority of ethnic minority groups remained very low.
“This alerts us to the fact that without big changes in the poverty reduction strategies of the country, in the near future, the majority of poor people in Vietnam will still be those in ethnic minority and mountainous areas,” he added.
The experience of poverty amongst different ethnic minority groups is extremely diverse, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam John Hendra said, adding that culturally sensitive and context specific targeting measures will increasingly be necessary in order to reduce poverty further, to achieve economic, social and cultural development and to efficiently use allocated financial resources.
After nearly two decades of implementing hunger elimination and poverty reduction policies, the number people living in poverty has been significantly reduced, yet the remaining poor people are mainly ethnic minority people and people living in mountainous areas.
The poverty rate in ethnic minority and mountainous areas remains high – 31.2 percent in 2009 against the national poverty rate of 12 percent.
Research showed that people living in ethnic minority and mountainous areas are vulnerable to risks related to economic crises and climate change. Rapid and sustainable poverty reduction for ethnic minority and mountainous areas is therefore an important task for the 2011-2015 period.
The national poverty rate in Vietnam decreased from 58.1 percent in 1993 to below 12 percent in 2009, and the poverty rate of ethnic minority and mountainous areas from 86 percent in 1993 to around 31.2 percent in 2009.
The workshop, jointly held by the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the United Nations in Vietnam, discussed challenges in ensuring rapid and sustainable poverty reduction, social security assistance, vulnerability of ethnic minorities to market influences and to the impacts of climate change, and directions for development of ethnic minority human resources for sustainable poverty reduction./.
