WB helps Vietnam’s social assistance programmes

The January 22 announcement noted pilot programmes will be run in four provinces.

Although Vietnam has achieved remarkable poverty reduction outcomes over the past two decades, ethnic minorities and other groups are disproportionately represented among the nation’s disadvantaged. Vietnam’s existing social assistance system leaves important policy and implementation gaps that risk hampering long-term poverty and economic vulnerability reduction. The fragmentation of programs and delivery systems creates considerable inefficiencies.

Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA) Nguyen Trong Dam agreed Vietnam’s social protection programmes suffer from fragmentation and unnecessary overlaps.,

“We want to consolidate social assistance systems into a robust, long-term driver of sustainable poverty reduction. This project represents a breakthrough in that direction. We are confident the reforms will succeed,” he said.

WB Country Director to Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa noted governments are increasingly focused on protecting their most vulnerable citizens against extreme deprivation, creating failsafes against economic shocks, and providing opportunities to the poor.

The Social Assistance System Strengthening Project (SASSP) will receive the bulk of the funding,  emphasising the importance of involving poor children in their own future and providing them the agency needed to break ”hereditary” poverty cycles.

The project’s strengthened social assistance system, spanning the length of the country, includes critical elements such as a national poverty database tracking poor, near-poor, and social assistance beneficiary households. The information management system supports the Government’s attempts at consolidation and public spending efficiency.

In the four pilot project provinces of Ha Giang, Quang Nam, Tra Vinh and Lam Dong, a consolidated “Cơ hội thoát nghèo truyền kiếp” (Opportunity to Escape Inter-Generational Poverty) programme will replace three existing initiatives. The project is a product of a collaboration between the MoLISA, UNICEF, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and the WB.

Deputy Minister Dam noted the project presents Vietnam with a great opportunity to modernise its social protection system, establishing new standards of transparency, efficiency, and universal access.