Database of poor and near-poor households to help with poverty reduction efforts

30/01/2025 08:25

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will establish a database of poor and near-poor households connected to the national population database to enhance effective, practical and sustainable poverty reduction efforts.

Construction on Vũ Thị Lương's new family home in Hưng Thịnh Village, Bắc Giang Province is nearing completion. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — To achieve its goal of maintaining an average multi-dimensional poverty reduction rate of at least 1 per cent nationwide in 2025, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will establish a database of poor and near-poor households connected to the national population database that will enhance effective, practical and sustainable poverty reduction efforts.

According to the ministry, last year's poverty reduction targets as assigned by the National Assembly and the Government have been met and surpassed. The estimated multi-dimensional poverty rate in 2024 was under 1.9 per cent, with a poverty rate among ethnic minorities below 13.5 per cent and a poverty rate in impoverished districts at about 26 per cent.

Vũ Thị Lương's family lives in Hưng Thịnh Village, Quang Minh Commune in Bắc Giang Province's Hiệp Hòa District and is classified as near-poor. They are completing construction of a new 70sq.m house.

Previously, their house was only about 30 square metres, and had cracked walls and significant deterioration.

“Our family used to face many difficulties, and I was a freelance labourer, so we were reluctant to rebuild the house. After Typhoon Yagi, we decided to construct a safer home. With the completion of this new house, our family will move out of the near-poor category,” Lương said.

Trần Minh Trí, Secretary of the Party Committee of Quang Minh Commune, said that at the beginning of 2024, the commune had 25 poor households and 28 near-poor households.

Under a programme to eliminate temporary and dilapidated housing, the villages conducted surveys that were verified by the commune's Steering Committee before housing assistance was provided to eligible families.

The commune identified eight households in need of support to eliminate temporary and dilapidated housing, including six poor or near-poor households.

In addition to the housing programme, Quang Minh Commune is also helping lift people out of poverty by creating jobs.

“Thanks to a combination of various programmes, including eliminating temporary and dilapidated housing, the commune now only has 13 poor households and 19 near-poor households,” Trí noted.

In 2024, the social affairs ministry advised the Government to support the elimination of temporary and dilapidated housing nationwide. The programme mobilised over VNĐ5 trillion to build homes.

The ministry aims to eliminate all temporary and dilapidated housing for poor and near-poor households across the country by the end of 2025, achieving this target five years ahead of the Party Central Committee’s goals.

Challenges remain

The ministry also acknowledged that, despite these achievements, most poor and near-poor households still face challenges such as a lack of stable jobs and low incomes.

These households also often lack access to basic social services such as housing, sanitation and education, and face gaps in vocational skills and training, making it difficult to secure employment.

The implementation of the National Target Programme for Poverty Reduction in some localities has been slow. While poverty reduction targets have been met, sustainability remains a challenge, as people are at risk of falling back into poverty due to external factors such as climate change, natural disasters and floods.

There remains a significant gap in poverty rates between regions, particularly in the northwest, Central Highlands and border areas. Detailed evaluations of objectives, results of specific projects and sub-projects, and progress in addressing deficits in basic social services have not been comprehensively assessed.

A small portion of the population still relies on Government support and has yet to achieve sustainable poverty alleviation. Many poor and near-poor households in some areas also face challenges like illness, disability, lack of labour capacity, insufficient production land or labour shortages, preventing them from participating in development projects and models.

The poverty reduction target set for 2025 is to maintain an average annual multi-dimensional poverty reduction rate of 1 to 1.5 per cent nationwide, with the poverty rate decreasing by over 1 per cent per year. Among ethnic minority groups, the poverty rate is expected to drop by over 3 per cent annually, while in impoverished districts the reduction target is between 4 and 5 per cent per year.

According to leaders at the National Office for Poverty Reduction, achieving these targets will be challenging because those who were most likely to escape poverty have already seen support in recent years.

To address this, the ministry has stated that it will continue to refine the institutional framework for poverty reduction, accelerate the review and revision of poverty reduction policies and integrate policies across various sectors to avoid overlaps and redundancies.

The objective is to ensure consistency and efficiency, aligning poverty reduction efforts with sustainable development goals while gradually improving minimum living standards and access to basic social services for the population.

The ministry also plans to promote communication and expand successful poverty reduction models, particularly focusing on guiding and piloting agricultural and non-agricultural poverty reduction models, as well as entrepreneurship and business start-up initiatives.

These efforts target impoverished individuals and communities to create sustainable jobs and livelihoods, increase income, enhance quality of life and adapt to climate change.

The initiatives will also work towards economic restructuring, labour market shifts and leveraging ethnic groups' cultural values to drive economic growth and promote cultural tourism in local communities. — VNS

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