International delegates gathered at a round table seminar in Hanoi on June 15-16 to review Vietnam’s Doi Moi (Renewal) process over the past 20 years. UNDP Resident Representative to Vietnam Subinay Nandy.granted an exclusive interview to VOVNews to talk about the issue.

VOVNews: What are your assessments of the results of 20 years’ Doi Moi in Vietnam?
Mr Nandy: Vietnam has made tremendous progress towards the targets set out in the 2001-2005 Socio-Economic Development Plan, most of which are described in the Government’s first nationally produced Millennium Development Goals Report published in September and presented at the 2005 World Summit by Vice President Truong My Hoa. These results show that Vietnam is a leader among developing countries in economic growth and poverty reduction, well on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2010.

Following are the achievements of the Renewal process.

• Economic growth accelerated during the plan period, averaging about seven percent per annum.
• The recorded headcount rate of poverty has been reduced from 36 to 20 percent.
• Universalisation of primary education is nearly achieved.
• Under-five mortality is now 23 per thousand, down from 53 in 1990.

However, the remaining issue is how to maintain the economic growth rate, which is the only sustainable way to improve the living standards for the vast majority of Vietnamese people.

VOVNews: What are the challenges facing Vietnam in continuing the process?
Mr Nandy: I think thee following inequalities need being tackled.

• First is the Ethnic Minority Gap. Extreme poverty is four to five times higher than the national average in the North East, North West, Central Highlands and North Central Coast regions, heavily populated by ethnic minorities. These regions also record higher infant and maternal mortality rates and levels of child malnutrition. Ethnic minority children still encounter difficulties in attending school.
• Second, the gap between rural and urban incomes is widening. The quality of health care and schools is also much better in cities and in lowland rural areas than in remote and poor upland areas.
• Another challenge is the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS, especially among young people. The number of people living with HIV more than doubled between 2000 and 2005, from approximately 122,000 to 263,000. About 14,000 AIDS-related deaths were reported in 2005. Stigma and discirmination continue to hamper efforts to deliver treatment and services and to support people living with HIV/AIDS within the community. People living with HIVAIDS are also more vulnerable to poverty, and the number of people falling below the poverty line or falling further into poverty as a result of HIV/AIDS will continue to rise.
• In addition, Vietnam should pay attention to natural resource management and pollution control. Water quality and sanitation have emerged as major health issues in urban and rural areas, requiring investment in infrastructure and better enforcement of existing rules. As forest area has increased, attention has shifted to forest quality and sustainability, including protection of community forest rights and biodiversity.

VOVNews: Any advice or experiences you want to share with Vietnam in achieving rapid growth while ensuring sustainability?
Mr Nandy: First, the creation of a society committed to equality and social justice and that gives every Vietnamese person the space they need to realise their full human potential is the true objective of development. Second, economic growth is a means to this end, not an end in itself. And third, the challenge for the future is to promote social cohesion and political stability while at the same time creating mechanism that enables the people to express themselves in all of their tremendous cultural, geographic, creative and intellectual diversity. By doing so, I think Vietnam will escape from the underdeveloped nation status by 2015.

VOVNews: Thank you very much.