The situation of misidentifying or missing objects is still quite common in most localities.
First of all, the assessment of beneficiaries of policies is poor households according to national standards, but the process of determining poor households also has some shortcomings. Basically, households assessed as poor in the locality, especially the poorest households, are all on the list of poor households in the locality. The assessment of poor households is theoretically based on a number of criteria guided by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, but in practice, determining these criteria is not simple, so there is a lack of consistency between localities. In addition, in many places, in order to achieve poverty reduction targets, local authorities are forced to remove some households from the list of poor households while in reality they have not really escaped poverty.
Next, in the context of limited resources, it is impossible to support all households, but it is necessary to select some households from the list of poor households. This is done through the evaluation process, but here there is a phenomenon that the households receiving support are not necessarily the poorest households, and more seriously, non-poor households are also on the list receiving support from the state. The cause of this situation is from the local government or from the evaluation process at the grassroots level. According to the results of the 2008 household survey, there are a number of main reasons leading to errors in the process of making a list of poor households at the local level, such as when evaluating households, there is a lack of consultation with everyone (35.24%), the evaluation process is unfair (29.05%) and village officials lack information about truly poor households (17.14%).
2.3 .5.3. From policy monitoring and evaluation
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Policy monitoring and evaluation are of utmost importance in the life cycle of a policy. Monitoring is the systematic collection of data on certain indicators to provide policy makers with information on the extent to which objectives are being achieved and the progress in using allocated resources.
How. Specifically, monitoring is carried out throughout the policy implementation process to provide information that allows comparison between what the policy has achieved and what needs to be achieved in the future. In addition, monitoring also provides timely information on activities that are going astray, such as the target group is not benefiting from the policy or the level of support for beneficiaries is too low, making it almost impossible to improve access to basic social services for the poor. Evaluation is a systematic and objective review of an ongoing or completed policy, including its design, implementation and results, to determine the appropriateness of the objectives, effectiveness, impact and sustainability of the policy.
The role of policy monitoring and evaluation is very important. However, in the past, monitoring work was carried out but it was too formal, so the quality was low. Evaluation work was also carried out but not continuously and promptly. Monitoring policy implementation to detect problems and promptly overcome them has not been seriously implemented. Basically, there has only been an attempt to have annual reports of an administrative nature. The information provided by monitoring and evaluation activities has not been sufficient and timely for the policy completion process. This has had a significant impact on the effectiveness, efficiency as well as ensuring the suitability and sustainability of each policy.
4. Conclusion
From the results of analyzing the implementation situation as well as evaluating some major poverty reduction policies implemented in Vietnam recently, the thesis draws the following important conclusions:
Firstly, the emergence of four policies: preferential credit for poor households, investment in infrastructure construction for poor communes, and health and education support for the poor in the poverty reduction policy system is an objective necessity. The implementation of these policies allows to address the multidimensional nature of poverty, thereby contributing to the goal of attacking poverty pursued by the Vietnamese government.
This allows us to affirm that in the next phase of designing poverty reduction programs, those policies will continue to be implemented, but adjustments need to be made to suit practical requirements.
Second, although there are not enough conditions to evaluate the individual impact of each policy on poverty reduction results, however, with the results achieved when implementing the policy, there is enough basis to affirm that the main policies on poverty reduction have had a positive impact on attacking poverty in Vietnam. This is demonstrated by the assurance of their effectiveness and efficiency as well as their suitability and sustainability.
Third , in addition to the positive impacts that the policies have brought, each policy itself has revealed shortcomings that have led to unwanted negative impacts. The causes come from the design stage to the organization of implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the policy. Therefore, the requirement in the coming time is to focus on perfecting the policy in all three stages. In which, focusing on key issues such as: determining the objectives and beneficiaries of the policy; developing a plan to mobilize resources to implement the policy; creating a coordination mechanism between relevant agencies and organizations to correctly identify beneficiaries; developing a mechanism and organizing the work of monitoring and evaluating the policy.
In short, although there are still certain weaknesses, the reality shows that the policies have played an important role in achieving great achievements in the cause of poverty reduction in Vietnam. The results of evaluating these policies on four aspects: effectiveness, efficiency, suitability and sustainability not only help us recognize the positive impacts but also discover the weaknesses in each policy. This is one of the important bases for proposing orientations and solutions to perfect the poverty reduction system in general and the main poverty reduction policies in particular by 2015.
CHAPTER 3: DIRECTIONS FOR IMPROVING VIETNAM'S MAIN POLICIES ON HUNGER ELIMINATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION BY 2015
3.1. Challenges to poverty reduction in Vietnam
Perfecting poverty reduction policies is a regular task of the government. However, how to perfect them is not a simple matter. The process of perfecting policies always requires a solid foundation and one of the indispensable foundations is the assessment of the future challenges that Vietnam will face in the poverty reduction process?
3.1.1. Difficulties in solving poverty in Vietnam
In the context of ever-changing socio-economic conditions, the poverty situation in Vietnam has improved significantly ( Appendix 3.1 ). With the achievements, Vietnam has been recognized by the international community as a country with a fast poverty reduction rate in the world and is one of the leading countries in achieving the goal of reducing the number of poor people by 50% by 2015. The World Bank has assessed that "Vietnam's poverty reduction achievements are among the most successful in development". However, Vietnam is currently facing a series of problems such as the diversity and complexity of Vietnamese society; the rate of poverty reduction is slower.
Vietnamese society is more diverse and complex . The renovation policy has brought high growth rates to the economy. However, there are differences in the level of participation and benefits of population groups from this economic growth achievement, leading to significant differences in living standards between rural and urban areas, between regions and ethnic minority groups. Therefore, entering the period 2011-2015, Vietnamese society is much more diverse than before (the time when national target programs were initiated).
The nature of poverty is relative poverty, because extreme poverty has basically been solved. That requires poverty reduction policies to also change accordingly.
Slower Poverty Reduction . Another major change that could significantly affect future poverty reduction is the change in the distribution of income/expenditure of the population around the poverty line over the past 10-15 years. Specifically, the proportion of the population with per capita expenditure fluctuating around 10% (20%) above the poverty line has continuously decreased, from 15% (29%) in 1993 to 7% (14%) in 2006. As a result, a 1 percentage point change in the poverty rate will become more difficult than before, and thus in the coming time, poverty reduction will become increasingly "costly"; to reduce poverty by one percentage point will require a higher growth rate, leading to the need for more resources to increase investment. This implies that in order to maintain rapid poverty reduction, it is necessary to increase investment efficiency as well as improve the growth model in a way that benefits the poor, through continuing to encourage the development of labor-intensive industries and enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to create more jobs and income for low-skilled workers.
3.1.2. Vietnam is expected to leave the list of poor countries by 2010.
The goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2010 marks a new qualitative step in Vietnam's development: per capita income increases, people's living standards improve and internal strength also increases... However, becoming a middle-income country also means that some donors and some international non-governmental organizations will gradually reduce preferential funding for Vietnam, leading to the possibility of losing social safety nets and basic services for some of the most vulnerable groups.
Today, although Vietnam has developed better than many countries in the region, escaped from a low starting point and has done a lot to address inequality in development, the poverty trend until 2015 is still highly concentrated in remote areas and ethnic minority groups. Therefore, in the early years of being a middle-income country, Vietnam will face more difficulties due to the lack of preferential support in external resources to implement poverty reduction activities in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and low educational levels.
3.1.3. Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Besides opportunities, Vietnam is also facing challenges, especially issues that have a direct impact on poverty such as economic instability, unfair competition causing state support for farmers to decrease and gradually disappear, higher requirements for product quality (agricultural products)...
The first is economic instability. After two years of WTO accession, the overall impacts on growth and poverty reduction are positive. However, along with the trend of foreign indirect investment flowing into Vietnam being very large due to investors' high expectations for a strong economic growth in the period after WTO accession, institutional constraints, as well as adverse global economic impacts... have caused very high inflation and large macroeconomic imbalances that have caused serious consequences for the people, especially the poor.
Second, state support for agricultural production is decreasing and gradually disappearing.
Joining the WTO also means accepting more equal competition. The requirement that production activities must calculate full costs will increase the cost of products, so the competitive advantage in price will no longer exist. Ensuring equal competition means that direct forms of support for farmers will be reduced.
This is a major challenge for farmers in conditions where there are no economies of scale. This is more serious for the poor because their production activities are small and fragmented.
Third is the increasingly high demand for product quality.
The challenge of implementing the commitments on Sanitary and Phytosanitary standards immediately after Vietnam becomes a member of the WTO is huge. This agreement requires the harmonization of national standards in agriculture and fisheries. To survive and develop, farmers need to change their methods as well as apply new technologies. This will be a big challenge, especially for poor, small-scale producers, especially in remote areas, due to the limitations in application capacity as well as implementation resources.
3.1.4. Climate change
Vietnam is one of the countries most affected by natural disasters, with many areas experiencing environmental instability and extreme climatic conditions such as storms, floods and droughts. In terms of natural disasters alone, the World Bank estimates that 33% of Vietnam’s land area and 76% of its population are vulnerable to natural disasters, while 89% of GDP is generated in areas affected by natural disasters.12
Relying heavily on natural resources, especially in rural areas where poverty is high, but resilience to shocks such as floods and droughts is low. High levels of storms, floods, bushfires and droughts, combined with climate change, are creating large regional variations in weather patterns. Growth and reforms in the agricultural sector are unlikely to keep pace with these changes, leaving rural communities in remote areas even more vulnerable.
Rising sea levels due to global warming pose a serious and long-term threat to coastal areas, with implications for both communities and the environment.
12 Country Support Strategy - Vietnam 2007-2010, Irish Aid
urban and rural areas living along the coast. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam will be the country most affected by sea level rise, especially the densely populated Red River and Mekong River Deltas. Changes in sea level are seriously threatening agricultural production, fishing, transportation and other industrial sectors. A one-meter sea level rise will affect 5.3% of land, 10.8% of population, 10.2% of GDP, 10.9% of urban areas, 7.2% of agricultural land and 28.9% of low-lying areas13. The physical damage caused by this phenomenon has not been fully calculated but will certainly have an impact on economic growth and poverty in Vietnam.
3.2. Viewpoints and orientations for perfecting poverty reduction policies by 2015
3.2.1. Perspectives on perfecting poverty reduction policies
3.2.1.1. Ensuring the achievement of the country's overall poverty reduction goals and the Millennium Development Goals
In 2001, Vietnam solemnly signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which identified the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On that basis, Vietnam concretized them into the Vietnam Development Goals (VDGs). According to these goals, by 2015, the number of poor people will be reduced by half compared to 1990.
Like other countries that have committed to implementing the MDGs, Vietnam has made great efforts and initially achieved very positive results. In the context of being a low-income developing country and suffering from unfavorable impacts of the world economy, this has greatly affected the implementation of the MDGs. However, Vietnam, like most countries, continues to implement its commitments in the Millennium Declaration; integrating the MDGs more fully and with higher quality into its actions.
13 Country Support Strategy - Vietnam 2007-2010, Irish Aid