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The Government on May 22 submitted to the 15th National Assembly (NA) a proposal on adjustments to the investment policy for the national target program on boosting the socio-economic development of ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas in the 2021-30 period, aiming to facilitate the disbursement of capital for the program.

The Government on May 22 submitted to the 15th National Assembly (NA) a proposal on adjustments to the investment policy for the national target program on boosting the socio-economic development of ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas in the 2021-30 period, aiming to facilitate the disbursement of capital for the program.

Delivering the proposal, Minister-Chairman of the Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Hau A Lenh noted that the disbursement of capital for the program has yet to meet expectations.

Lenh cited a report by the Ministry of Finance showing that as of the end of March, about VND 2.11 trillion (USD 82.85 million) of capital for the program had been disbursed, reaching 14 percent of the plan. However, the amount of non-business capital disbursed for the program was estimated at VND 38.38 trillion, fulfilling only 1 percent of the plan, he noted.

The official said that the approval of adjustments to the program’s investment policy is expected to create positive impacts on the socio-economic development of ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas, contributing to settling difficulties and obstacles facing the program, thus facilitating the disbursement of capital for projects. The total cost for the adjustments is about 4.14 trillion VND, he said.

Delivering a verification report on the Government’s proposal, Chairman of the NA Ethnic Council Y Thanh Ha Nie Kdam said that the Government needs to further clarify the necessity of the adjustments as well as the list of specific investment items, along with the situation of investment beneficiaries that play an important role in education, training, health care and traditional culture conservation in ethnic regions.

The council proposed that the NA agree on the principle for adjusting a number of contents related to the investment policy for the program in the 2021-30 period and assign the Government to review and issue a specific investment list for public non-business units operating in ethnic affairs, boarding schools for ethnic students, district-level health stations and hospitals, relics and projects on conservation of ethnic minority groups that are inside or outside the current recognized ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

The council asked the Government to direct ministries, sectors and agencies to review and amend relevant legal documents, with priority given to the classification of ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas.

Viet Nam has become a model in its fight against poverty and has inspired other developing countries.

Sustainable poverty reduction is one of the major undertakings and tasks of the Party and the State of Vietnam, demonstrating the good nature of the socialist regime. Over the years, along with improving the salary and wage regime and raising incomes for workers, the Party and the State of Vietnam have always paid special attention to ensuring social security and reducing poverty for the people, including ethnic households and mountainous areas.
Over the past 77 years, especially after more than 37 years of renovation, the Party and the State of Vietnam have maintained a consistent position by which economic growth should be associated with sustainable poverty eradication and social security. Overcoming many difficulties, sustainable poverty reduction in Viet Nam has achieved impressive results. Viet Nam has become a model in its fight against poverty and has inspired other developing countries.
Those achievements resulted from increasing awareness and utilizing the collective resources of the entire political system. Political systems, be it central government or local governments, have decisively acted, closely and simultaneously collaborated in directing, implementing policies, calling for the positive support of the entire society. People in poverty’ consciousness changed as they were no longer overdependent on support, with examples of many households escaping poverty and voluntarily requesting to be removed from the list of poor families.

In addition, programs, mechanisms, policies and laws regarding poverty reduction have been simultaneously issued to comprehensively support the poor people. The government also issued specialized poverty reduction policies, prioritized support for vulnerable people, people in minority and difficult areas, as well as gradually reduced and removed unconditional assistance policies while increasing conditional assistance policies.

The Government and Congress have paid close attention and mobilized the government budget, along with social resources for Poverty reduction programs. Total mobilized resources for the program were estimated to be 120,000 billion VND, with central budgets taken up to 35%, local social capital 41%, donations to “Fund for the Poor” and social security activities of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front 24%.

Notably, Viet Nam has implemented poverty standards in a multi-dimensional, organized approach. Viet Nam has published its poverty standards 8 times, in consideration of its socio-economic developments. As a result, Viet Nam was among the first 30 countries in the world as well as in Asia to apply the multi-dimensional poverty standards, closely associated its minimum living standards to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
As a result, people’s incomes have greatly increased, as their material and spiritual lives have significantly improved, specifically those in poor, difficult areas.
Notable, the campaign “The whole nation joins hand for the poor – No one left behind”, rallied by the Prime Minister, has been widely and substantially implemented, created a competitive, exciting atmosphere in completing sustainable poverty reduction goals.

The Government have closely worked with the Central Committee of Viet Nam Fatherland Front to organize events, kindle the spirit of self-reliance, self-dependent in overcoming poverty and mobilize resources to accomplish sustainable poverty reduction goals. Through these campaigns, exemplary, effective poverty reduction models and innovations have been discovered and multiplied for further effects.

The campaigns have also created a unity between ideologies and actions, as well as prompted a general consensus in society, promoting the central role of the people in completing sustainable poverty reduction goals and objectives.

Finally, the Government and local provinces have always emphasized on evaluation, comprehensive review of poverty reduction work, focused on innovating mindsets, poverty reduction methods in consideration of the national socio-economic developments across periods as well as specific situations of region and areas.
Given an overall review of Viet Nam’s poverty reduction work over the past few years, Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung stressed: “We have come from reducing poverty by relying entirely on the national budget to making the people, poor households play central roles with the government’s leadership. These were significant steps in our mindsets and actions in our fight against poverty. We have met the UN’s millennial development goals earlier than expected. Our achievement has been well regarded by the international community as a spotlight on global poverty reduction.”
Meanwhile, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Permanent Representative in Viet Nam Caitlin Wiesen has remarked that Viet Nam’s poverty reduction achievement was nothing short of impressive and highly regarded by the international community.

With such outstanding, substantial results, well-received by the people and international community, Viet Nam has the foundations and motivations to continue implementing sustainable poverty reductions to successfully reduce multi-dimensional poverty by 1 – 1.5% per year in accordance to the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress so that in 2030, there would virtually no poor district or difficult villages, contributing to the goal of a Viet Nam without poverty and with no one left behind.