Vietnam has made remarkable progress in poverty reduction in the 2010 – 2020 period. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has made remarkable progress in poverty reduction in the 2010 – 2020 period, with the rate of povertydeclining to only 5 percent from 16.8 percent, according to the WorldBank (WB).
The WB said over 10 million people were supportedto escape from poverty in the period.
The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of the decade has stalled progress onwage increase and improvement in job quality, and delayed the poverty reductionprogress and effort.
The WB will release a report on poverty and equality in Vietnamin 2022 at a ceremony on April 28. The event aims to discuss povertyand inequality trends over the past decade, negative impacts of the COVID-19pandemic, and grinding poverty reductionchallenges facing the Southeast Asian nation.
Participants to the event will focus on clarifying the path tomiddle and high income; related policies including the improvement of the qualityof higher education, the modernisation of social security system, and thedevelopment of public financial resources to meet the needs of an increasing middleclass.
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) According to the WB, Vietnam needs to have target povertyreduction policies and new strategies to help those who have escaped povertyachieve economic security, towards further accelerating poverty reduction and improvingliving standards in Vietnam for all people.
Currently, the rate of grindingpoverty in Vietnam still remains marginally higher in certain groups and this is also a challengeat the last leg of the poverty reduction journey in the country.
Equity investment in human capital is a necessary condition for inclusivelyreducing poverty and breaking the trend of intergenerational poverty.
According to the WB’s Macro Poverty Outlook for Vietnam in 2022 released onApril 22, the poverty rate in Vietnam is expected to decline in2022, but at a slower pace than pre-COVID-19.
Poor households were less able to cope with theimpact from income shocks and were more reliant on external sources such asborrowing.
Vietnam’s poverty reduction is expected to resumein 2022 assuming GDP growth recovery to pre-COVID rates, but the impact of thecrisis may have longer term effects on rising inequality./.
