Vietnam is striving to improve the quality of poverty reduction to make its poverty line close to the global standard by 2015 and beyond. According to the national criteria set on January 1, 2011, a person is considered poor if his or her monthly income was VND400,000 or less in rural areas and VND500,000 or below in urban areas. This poverty line is still low taking into consideration Vietnam’s recent socio-economic development. “It is not too difficult to meet the target, and when the economy is growing steadily, the line will be raised on a par with the global level,” said Truong Thi Mai, Chairwoman of the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs. However, it is no easy task for Vietnam, as its limited financial resources are a major obstacle to achieving sustainable poverty reduction, Mai told VOV online in a recent interview. She explained that economic difficulties are taking a heavy toll on implementing social welfare policies, including those for social, medical and unemployment insurance. Therefore, it is not really suitable to consider increasing pay for those working in the public sector at the moment, she confided. Mai said her committee has proposed that the National Assembly allow employment to shift from the formal to the informal sectors. A large number of businesses have borne the brunt of the economic slowdown, with many declaring bankruptcy, suspending operations, and laying off workers. Those workers now need jobs in the informal sector. Global economic fluctuations are negatively impacting Vietnam and requiring the country to adjust its socio-economic development targets. In this context, it is impossible to continue implementing poverty reduction and social welfare policies so rapidly. “We have to carefully study the problems that are arising from the global economic and financial turmoil and weigh the pros and cons of any adjustments to address the situation,” Mai told VOV online. In her opinion, the National Assembly needs to reconsider its budget allocation, with priority given to social welfare. Accordingly, 20% of the total will be allocated for education, 8% for health care and 2% for science. “During the current economic restructuring, Vietnam should focus on increasing the number of jobs in the formal sector to ensure better salaries and other benefits for workers,” Mai said. “We also need to help the unemployed with free training and appropriate counseling services.” A Government report presented at the current NA session said that last year the poverty rate fell by an additional 2% on a national level and by 7% on the district level. The NA Committee for Social Affairs recently conducted a survey that showed up to 75% of near poor households still do not have access to medical insurance services. The level of poverty relapse also remains high at between 4%-7 %, while the number of near poor households accounts for 7% of the total, which poses a great challenge in the fight against poverty. (vov.vn Jun 8)
