Việt Nam’s path to sustainable poverty reduction

Growing lotus to eat has become a stable source of income, offering sustainable poverty alleviation for farmers in Sóc Trăng Province. — VNA/VNS Photos

HÀ NỘI — For decades, Việt Nam has remained resolute in its fight to eliminate hunger and alleviate poverty, setting an example of sustainable development.

With the Party and State taking the lead, Việt Nam has become the first Asian country to establish a comprehensive, multidimensional poverty reduction programme, a step that has garnered international praise and marked a historic achievement.

This revolution in poverty alleviation has touched the lives of millions, with its effects felt even in the most remote areas.

Việt Nam’s campaign against poverty crosses generations, with a focus on uplifting citizens, particularly those in rural, mountainous, and ethnic minority communities.

The combination of supportive policies and local determination has brought about significant strides in poverty alleviation.

Transforming lives

In Buôn Đôn, a border district in Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Đắk Lắk, the focus on poverty reduction has yielded encouraging results.

With 18 ethnic groups, nearly half of Buôn Đôn’s population are ethnic groups, many of whom rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

The natural environment, with its harsh climate and poor soil quality, has limited opportunities. But through targeted support and sustainable development policies, the district has transformed lives.

One success story belongs to H’Khưa HĐơh’s family from Jang Lành hamlet, Krông Na Commune.

Once struggling with poverty, they were given two goats worth VNĐ13 million (US$512) in 2017 under a local poverty reduction initiative. This seemingly small investment has paid off.

Over the following years, her herd grew, enabling H’Khưa HĐơh to transition to cattle rearing, and by 2023, her family had escaped poverty.

Similarly, in the same hamlet, Y Chít Niê received two cows in 2022.

With additional income from cultivating cassava on a hectare of land, Y Chít Niê’s family now earns around VNĐ100 million annually, a stable income that lifted them out of poverty within a year.

In the southern province of Sóc Trăng, home to the nation’s largest Khmer community, policies have enabled ethnic households to lift themselves sustainably from poverty.

Local authorities have made great strides, offering targetted assistance to families such as Danh Chum’s family.

Once without land and reliant on daily offers of work, his family received support from the local authority in 2022. With a new home, livestock and capital for small business ventures, his family’s living conditions have seen substantial improvement.

Cinnamon cultivation has become a lifeline for poverty reduction, providing sustainable income for ethnic groups in Mường Tè District, Lai Châu Province.

In Lai Châu, a mountainous northern province, the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction has invigorated rural and isolated communities. This comprehensive initiative has brought essential services, created jobs and raised incomes across the locality.

Chairman of the Lai Châu People’s Committee, Lê Văn Lương, said that these poverty reduction policies have significantly enhanced the region’s social and economic development, providing sustainable livelihoods that foster resilience in the local economy.

In 2015, the Government introduced a new standard for poverty assessment, shifting from an income-based to a multidimensional approach.

This updated framework evaluates poverty based on factors like access to healthcare, education, housing, clean water, sanitation, and information.

It has positioned Việt Nam as a regional leader in addressing poverty as a complex, multifaceted issue.

By focusing on various aspects of life quality, Việt Nam has crafted policies and programmes that not only increase incomes but also expand access to crucial services, helping to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

A national commitment

Poverty reduction is now one of Việt Nam’s three national target programmes, with the 2021–2025 phase aiming for one to 1.5 per cent annual reduction in multidimensional poverty, with over 3 per cent for ethnic households.

The Government plans to lift 30 per cent of the poorest coastal and island districts out of extreme poverty by 2025.

Through these initiatives, Việt Nam has established the Central Steering Committee on Sustainable Poverty Reduction, which oversees a broad legal framework to guide poverty reduction projects and regularly evaluate households’ poverty status, ensuring that resources are effectively allocated.

Each year, Việt Nam allocates substantial resources to social welfare through central funds, local contributions, and the fund for the poor.

Over three decades, this investment has seen the average income per capita rise from $185 in 1993 to approximately $4,650 today.

By 2023, the national multidimensional poverty rate dropped to 2.93 per cent, with ten impoverished communes successfully emerging from poverty.

The improvements in living standards have been transformative, as hundreds of households have voluntarily left poverty status, aiming to achieve self-sufficiency.

Residents of Mường Nhà Commune gather pineapples, a crop that has enabled the Mông people in the border region of Điện Biên Province to break free from poverty.

Rural Việt Nam has seen a transformative wave of development, with vast improvements in economic and social infrastructure reshaping the countryside.

Essential facilities now support local production and improve quality of life, including expanded electricity networks, better roads, new schools, healthcare centres, marketplaces and community cultural houses.

These sweeping changes are a testament to the collective efforts of the Party, the State and the people in a unified drive to lift communities out of poverty and fulfil the commitment to 'leave no one behind'.

Việt Nam’s achievements in poverty eradication are widely recognised both domestically and abroad.

Once one of the world’s poorest countries, Việt Nam has become one of the fastest-growing economies.

Between 1989 and 2023, per capita GDP increased 40-fold, with poverty rates dropping from over 58 per cent in 1993 to just 2.23 per cent by 2021. This dramatic reduction means that over 40 million Vietnamese have escaped poverty.

Việt Nam was one of the few countries to meet the UN’s Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction ahead of schedule, a feat the World Bank has lauded as “exceptional”.

The 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report by the United Nations Development Programme and Oxford University’s OPHI also highlighted Việt Nam’s extraordinary progress, ranking the country among 25 nations that halved their MPI within 15 years.