The rate of participation in social insurance reached 38.08 per cent while the rate of participation in unemployment insurance reached 31.18 per cent of the workforce population last year.

The number of voluntary social insurance participants had been increasing, reaching 1.46 million so far, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the national conference to study and thoroughly grasp Resolution No 15 of the 8th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee on December 4 in Ha Noi.

When delivering his speech about innovation and improvement of the social policies’ quality, meeting the requirements of building and protecting the country in the new period at the conference, PM Chinh said the country had basically achieved the goals after 10 years of implementing Resolution No 15 on a number of social policy issues in the 2012-20 period.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivers his speech at the national conference to study and thoroughly grasp Resolution No 15 of the 8th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee on December 4 in Ha Noi. Photo VGP/Nhat Bac

Chinh also said that preferential policies to honour people with meritorious services to the revolution were given special attention and effectively implemented.

The group of people with meritorious services to the revolution was expanded with appropriate preferential policies.

Currently, over 1.2 million people with meritorious services and their relatives have benefited from the policies monthly; 98.6 per cent of the families with meritorious services had a standard of living equal to or higher than the average standard of living of other families in their residential areas.

He also said ensuring social security shifted from humanitarian assistance to ensuring citizens' welfare rights.

The number of people receiving regular social assistance increased every year and reached 3.3 million people last year.

More than VND120 trillion (US$4.92 billion) and over 200,000 tonnes of rice had been provided for over 68 million people and workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during three years of fighting the pandemic.

The State played the leading role, mobilised and promoted the important role of businesses, social organisations, the market and the people's self-reliant will. About 20 per cent of total annual state budget expenditure had been spent on social policies.

Labour market institutions were gradually being improved and basically ensured labour supply and demand. The unemployment rate was stable and below 3 per cent, urban unemployment was below 4 per cent.

He added that poverty reduction achieved outstanding results. People's lives were increasingly improving.

The poverty household rate dropped from nearly 60 per cent in 1986 to less than 3 per cent in 2022. GDP per capita increased from $86 in 1986 to $4,110 in 2022.

Viet Nam reached the finish line ahead of schedule for the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The country was a bright spot globally, recognised and highly appreciated by the domestic people and the international community.

Additionally, people had a chance to better access to basic social services. In terms of education, children attending school at the right age at the primary school level reached 99 per cent since 2015, and at the secondary school level reached over 95 per cent since 2020.

It was estimated that 92 per cent of the population participated in health insurance; 90 per cent of children under 1 year old were fully vaccinated last year.

In terms of accommodation, 648,000 poor rural households were provided accommodation; 323,000 houses were provided for the poor and people in difficult circumstances by 2020.

By 2021, 90 per cent of rural people access hygienic water.

In terms of information access, all mountainous, remote, border and island communes were covered by terrestrial radio and television since 2016. By 2020, all of the communes had radio stations.

New resolution

 Social and unemployment insurance coverage has been constantly expanded

The PM said after 10 years of implementing Resolution No 15, the country basically achieved the set goals. However, shortcomings were still found and needed to be fixed as soon as possible.

Along with that, requirements of innovating and developing the country in the new period consisted of improving the quality of the social policies, meeting increasing requirements for improving the material and spiritual life of the people, he said.

Therefore, at the eighth plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, the Central Executive Committee issued Resolution No 42-NQ/TW on November 24, 2023 on "Continuing to innovate and improve quality of social policies to meet the requirements of the cause of building and protecting the country in the new period".

The resolution changed the approach from "security and stability" to "stability and development"; associated with sustainable social-development management, improving the social welfare of all people, ensuring social security and human security; harmoniously combined between the social security policy and other social policies to ensure social stability.

The resolution also focused on the development of social progress through human development, human resource development, middle-class development associated with sustainable social-development management; becoming a driving force for economic development, and contributing to building and protecting the country.

The resolution was set to innovate and improve the quality of the social policies in a comprehensive, modern, inclusive and sustainable direction.

The social policies must be placed within the overall management of sustainable social development; harmoniously resolve social relations and care for people; economic growth associated with ensuring the social policies; investing in the social policies is investing in development.

Regarding the general goal to 2030, the resolution clearly defines the building of a social policy system towards sustainability, progress and fairness; perfecting diverse, multi-layered, comprehensive, modern, inclusive and sustainable social security policies; developing a flexible, efficient and internationally-integrated labour market.

The resolution sets out 37 specific targets by 2030.

Also under the resolution, by 2045, the social policy system will develop comprehensively, sustainably, progressively and equitably, ensuring social security and welfare for the people; belong to the group of countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) in the world./.