The Vietnamese government will not cut investments in anti-poverty activities despite economic uncertainties in the years to come, said Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen. At a forum on sustainable poverty reduction in Hanoi on Oct 16 jointly held by the ministry and United Nations, Ms. Chuyen said that although the government may have to cut funding to other target national programs due to budget shortage, poverty reduction programs will not be affected and may even receive more funding. She noted that some anti-poverty policies will be no longer implemented and the state will build new policies on supporting households that have just escaped poverty and live near the poverty line to limit poverty resumption. Addressing the event, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta said tackling the challenges in poverty reduction would require tailored and multi-sectoral approaches by viewing poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, not just in monetary terms. Many delegates noted that poverty reduction in Vietnam remains unsustainable, especially with the widening gap between the rich and the poor and between urban areas and rural ones. The government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said in its report that the wealthy was 9.5 times as rich as the poor in 2012, up from 8.9 times in 2008. (Tuoi Tre – Youth Oct 17 p3)
