Ministry, UNDP step up efforts on poverty reduction

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA)’s National Coordination Office for Poverty Reduction and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on February 28 signed a memorandum of understanding and launched a project on programme development and policy advising on multidimensional and sustainable poverty reduction for 2021-2023.

In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Van Thanh stressed the Vietnamese Party, Government and people pay great attention to sustainable poverty reduction, considering it a major task throughout the national reform, construction, and development cause.

Vietnam’s poverty rate, which was 58.1 percent in 1993, decreased to 2.75 percent in 2020 and 2.23 percent in 2021. On January 18 this year, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 90/QD-TTg approving the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2021-2025 period, which focuses on investing in improving the capacity of the poor and clearly identifies the causes of poverty in order to radically and thoroughly solve the problem.

Thanh noted to implement the decision, the ministry wants to boost bilateral and multilateral cooperation with international partners in order to successfully achieve the goal of multidimensional, inclusive, and sustainable poverty reduction.

The launched project is a join work among the UNDP, the MoLISA, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). It has provided technical support for the MOLISA in a series of contents, such as researching and developing the national programme; studying and finalising the poverty line and instruments for multi-dimensional poverty measurement for the period 2021 - 2025 which are relevant to Vietnam; and researching and proposing solutions to support the poor affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; among others.

“This project demonstrates the commitment from UNDP to support MOLISA in their vision to deliver the National Targeted Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction. Our tried and tested innovative solutions will be applied more widely to help meet the national target programme’s objective of reducing the number of poor and near-poor households by half by 2025,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen.

“Australia is committed to supporting sustainable and inclusive growth in Vietnam. The UNDP-MOLISA partnership that is officially launched today is part of Australia’s commitment. We value this partnership as it has led to innovative solutions for poverty reduction to be embedded in government programs and policies,” said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie.