How Viet Nam has created widely-recognized success story in poverty reduction?

UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam Ramla Khalidi made that above statement in her recent interview with VGP.

Khalidi said, as highlighted by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the G20 Leaders' Summit 2024 that took place in Brazil last week, Viet Nam recorded an impressive achievement in poverty reduction.

Indeed, the country has reduced poverty rate from 58.1 percent in 1992 to just nearly 3 percent today. This is a testament to the impact of its targeted anti-poverty programs and the leadership's focus on people centered economic growth, she noted.

Recognizing that poverty extends beyond income, Viet Nam was a leader in ASEAN adopting multi-dimensional poverty measures, which include factors such as access to healthcare, education, sanitation and clean water.

With UNDP's support, Viet Nam officially adopted a multi-dimensional approach to poverty measurement (MDP) in 2015. This marked a significant shift in Viet Nam's approach transitioning from an income-based model to one based on MDP.

According to Khalidi, progress in poverty reduction in Viet Nam has been driven by 3 main pathways, including rapid expansion of productive employment; improvements in social services, such as health and education; and expansion and quality improvements in the social protection system.

While Viet Nam has made impressive strides in reducing multi-dimensional poverty, two key challenges remain, including pockets of deprivation remain especially in remote and mountainous areas, and among ethnic minorities; and most households are still vulnerable to poverty.

The UNDP Resident Representative said, Typhoon Yagi is an example of how extreme weather events and natural disasters can push people back into poverty, especially the near poor and those living in mountainous and remote areas.

The storm underscores the importance of building climate-resilient infrastructure and enhancing social protection systems to prevent vulnerable populations from falling into poverty.

The government plays an important role in supporting emergency relief and recovery efforts. This is done through unconditional cash transfers to targeted groups, and support to rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and through fiscal measures, such as offering loan repayment relief for affected businesses. Such measures can ease financial burdens during the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, she suggested.

These efforts, combined with investments in early warning systems, storm-resilient housing, and stronger social protection programs will be crucial in helping affected communities recover and reduce vulnerability of households to future shocks, shared Khalidi./.