Ten million more people benefit from new poverty reduction policies.

With the new multi-dimensional poverty line approved last year, the near poor and poor household rate in Vietnam increases from 5.2% in 2020 to 9.35% this year, meaning an additional 10 million people to benefit from the Government’s social protection and poverty reduction policies and programmes in 2021-2025 period.

This information was revealed at the launch of the Multi-Dimensional Poverty (MDP) report 2021 in Hanoi on July 28. It was jointly compiled by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the Committee for Ethnic Affairs (CEMA), the General Statistics Office, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

According to the report, with the adoption of the national multidimensional poverty line in 2015, Vietnam emerged as a pioneer in the Asia-Pacific region, incorporating multidimensional poverty into the national poverty analysis and targeting. Vietnam has seen progress in multi-dimensional poverty reduction, thanks to the rapid expansion of employment; improvement of social services; and expansion of the social protection system.

However, the persistence of poverty among ethnic minority groups and in coastal, island areas is a challenge for the country in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The COVID-19 pandemic was a tremendous setback in the struggle to eliminate poverty.

Addressing the event, Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs Hau A Lenh said that the adoption of the multi-dimensional poverty approach has supported the development, implementation and measurement of the success of the ethnic minority-related policy.

Lenh said he hopes that the report will point out the shortcomings and main causes of multi-dimensional poverty in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in Vietnam, therefore suggesting effective measures to support the Vietnamese Government to successfully carry out the Master Plan and National Target Programme for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the 2021-2030 period and other ethnic minority programmes and policies.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan said the report provides detailed analysis of employment and social security services for all people, adding this is seen as an effective solution to maintain the achievement of multidimensional poverty reduction and renewal of the social security system in Vietnam.

UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Kanni Wignaraja highlighted key recommendations for accelerating the reduction of poverty in all dimensions. She also suggested expanding social protection and the use of digitalisation in improving delivery and knowledge industries, enhancing efficacy and transparency as well as promoting innovative solutions to specifically scale-up successful pilots conducted by and with ethnic communities.