VietNamNet Bridge – The poverty rate is projected to fall below 5% by the end of the year, according to a report to the National Assembly on the implementation of national target programmes that aim to improve people’s living standards.

The government estimates that the percentage of poor households has dropped by an average 2% per year from the 14.2% level in 2010.

Over the past five years, the 16 national target programmes have also brought significant improvements in other aspects such as access to clean water, malnutrition in children, the child mortality rate and universal education.

It is reported that four out of five residents in rural areas now have access to clean water, while nearly two thirds of rural households have access to hygienic toilets.

The government says these programmes have bridged the development gap between different regions and played a major role in helping Vietnam achieve the Millennium Development Goals on education and healthcare.

The government, however, acknowledges that it failed to meet a number of targets because limited resources were distributed among too many programmes that sometimes overlapped.

In addition, there was no close coordination between different programmes, between the central and local governments and between relevant agencies to achieve an overall better result.

In order to address these shortcomings, the government has proposed re-organising these 16 national target programmes into two: one on building new rural areas and the other on alleviating poverty in a sustainable manner.

The programme on building new rural areas will seek to modernise rural infrastructure and improve access to education, healthcare and sanitation, while poverty reduction will focus on supporting the poor in disadvantaged, mountainous and remote areas.

The re-organisation of national target programmes will also include a more streamlined budget allocation process, increased devolution to local governments on selecting targets specific to their condition and greater participation of the community.

Nhan Dan