Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the online conference to review poverty reduction work in the 2016-2020 period (Photo: VGP/ Quang Hieu)

The Prime Minister said that the Party and State’s devotion over the past 30 years has paid off and Vietnam is recognized by the world as a model of poverty reduction and an inspirational success story.

However, Prime Minister Phuc warned natural disasters and epidemics will challenge Vietnam’s poverty reduction achievements.

He  called for efforts to fine-tune policies to support the poor, give priority to children, the elderly and ethnic minorities, ensuring that no one is left behind.

“In order to fulfill the responsibility for the poor, I urge the whole country to implement a new movement: each commune, ward, and village will build a typical poverty reduction model. Sustainable poverty reduction starts with children, while special attention needs to be paid to human capital. Better-off localities help poorer districts and communes. Party committees assign Party members to help the poor. Emulation movements need to be launched to creatively and substantially achieve sustainable poverty reduction goals. Particularly, the Ministry of National Defense adopts children whose parents died in natural disasters,” Prime Minister Phuc said. 

According to a report delivered at the conference, the National Assembly and the government have mobilized resources to meet the poverty reduction targets for the 2016-2020 period and help the poor improve their income and their access to basic social services like health care, education, housing, clean water, and information.