'Leave no one behind' in implementation of new multidimensional poverty standards

Addressing the meeting last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stated that adjusting national multidimensional poverty standards, specifically regarding indicators for education, healthcare, the environment, and employment, is essential to meet development goals as the country enters a "new era." The government is targeting double-digit growth and aiming to become a developed nation with modern industry and high average income by 2030.

However, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that adjusting these indices, particularly regarding income, requires a thorough impact assessment. He emphasized that changes must be grounded in political, legal, scientific, and practical foundations, and that feasibility must be based on "measurable data."

"Double-digit growth must translate into benefits for the entire population, especially by providing poor households with opportunities to transform their lives," Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha said.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the issuance of the decree for the 2026-2030 period will serve as the basis for the accurate and comprehensive identification of poor and near-poor households. This framework is crucial for implementing poverty-reduction and social security policies nationwide, as well as for setting specific targets for the next five years.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has proposed new income thresholds for the 2026-2030 standards: 2.2 million VND per person per month in rural areas and 2.8 million VND per person per month in urban areas.

The draft decree retains several criteria from the 2022-2025 period, including employment (jobs and dependents), education (adult literacy and child school attendance), healthcare (nutrition and health insurance), and housing (per capita area and housing quality).

Proposed adjustments include raising income levels to align with the Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring a gradually increasing minimum standard of living. The draft also seeks to improve the quality of information access, revise measurements for hygienic water sources and sanitation facilities, and introduce a new indicator for waste treatment.

Projections indicate that under the new national multidimensional poverty standards for 2026–2030, the poverty rate in 2026 would stand at 11.7%, corresponding to nearly 3.3 million households, an increase of approximately 904,000 households compared to the start of the 2022-2025 period. The estimated cost for social security policies for poor and near-poor households under the new standards in 2026 is 39 trillion VND, an increase of about 24 trillion VND compared to the 2025 figures under the current standards.

During the meeting, representatives from various ministries agreed on the need to update standards to reflect current development realities and growth targets for the upcoming period.

A representative from the Ministry of Finance suggested a comprehensive review of existing support policies, spanning healthcare, education, hospital fee waivers, livelihood support, and the elimination of temporary housing, before finalizing the implementation timeline for the new standards. The representative stressed the need to balance the state budget, noting competing priorities such as investment, national defense, technology, education, healthcare, and digital transformation.

Concluding the session, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha directed that the poverty standards from the 2020 - 2025 period continue to be applied throughout 2026.

Adjustments to income criteria will be executed based on aggregated resources from national target programs. This specific criterion will be evaluated and updated in 2027 to reflect the actual benefits available to poor households accurately. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that adjustments would apply only to income criteria, while other indicators would remain unchanged or be supplemented based on practical implementation.

He further noted that the new standards must adhere to the principle of "leaving no one behind," while balancing general income levels and minimum wages to ensure poor and near-poor households fully benefit from policy support.

Moving beyond simple unemployment statistics, the 2026-2030 standards seek to address the quality and stability of employment as a root cause of poverty.

Structural Shift: The current approach often focuses on temporary income generation. The new "employment dimension" prioritizes sustainable livelihoods. This means evaluating whether a job provides a steady income, social insurance participation, and safety standards.

Vocational Linkage: This dimension is closely tied to vocational training and labor restructuring. The goal is to transition rural labor from low-productivity agricultural work to higher-value roles in modern industry and services, ensuring that "escaping poverty" is permanent rather than a temporary fluctuation in earnings.

*Currency exchange: USD 1 = VND 26.386 - Source: Vietcombank, November 18, 2025.