Vietnam makes strides in poverty reduction: World Bank

Vietnam has made remarkable progress in poverty reduction in the 2010 – 2020 period. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam has made remarkable progress in poverty reduction in the 2010 – 2020 period, with the rate of poverty declining to only 5 percent from 16.8 percent, according to the World Bank (WB).

The WB said over 10 million people were supported to escape from poverty in the period.

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of the decade has stalled progress on wage increase and improvement in job quality, and delayed the poverty reduction progress and effort.

The WB will release a report on poverty and equality in Vietnam in 2022 at a ceremony on April 28. The event aims to discuss poverty and inequality trends over the past decade, negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and grinding poverty reduction challenges facing the Southeast Asian nation.

Participants to the event will focus on clarifying the path to middle and high income; related policies including the improvement of the quality of higher education, the modernisation of social security system, and the development of public financial resources to meet the needs of an increasing middle class.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

According to the WB, Vietnam needs to have target poverty reduction policies and new strategies to help those who have escaped poverty achieve economic security, towards further accelerating poverty reduction and improving living standards in Vietnam for all people.

Currently, the rate of grinding poverty in Vietnam still remains marginally higher in certain groups and this is also a challenge at the last leg of the poverty reduction journey in the country.

Equity investment in human capital is a necessary condition for inclusively reducing poverty and breaking the trend of intergenerational poverty.

According to the WB’s Macro Poverty Outlook for Vietnam in 2022 released on April 22, the poverty rate in Vietnam is expected to decline in 2022, but at a slower pace than pre-COVID-19.

Poor households were less able to cope with the impact from income shocks and were more reliant on external sources such as borrowing.

Vietnam’s poverty reduction is expected to resume in 2022 assuming GDP growth recovery to pre-COVID rates, but the impact of the crisis may have longer term effects on rising inequality./.