Ministry of labour invalids and social affairs

2. Lessons for Vietnam

Firstly, it is necessary to transform the targeting approach from a fragmented, temporary manner that address such target beneficiaries that occur in a certain context to the lifecycle approach which helps determine typical risks and vulnerabilities for respective age groups.

Secondly, it is essential to change from “subsidy” to “support”, “promotion” to ensure the effectiveness of social assistance and the system’s sustainability. The key nature of this concept is enhancing rights and responsibility of beneficiaries to themselves at a highest possible level as well as raising their awareness that social transfer is a tool to ‘push” them to overcome challenges instead of merely being a “pulling” machine.

Thirdly, policy consolidation is needed to guarantee the systematic, comprehensiveness, to prevent the overlapped and multiple features of legal documents on social assistance. The role of proposing new/revised policies to the Government should rest in a single agency, being MOLISA. There should be further attention of central and local Governments in arranging funds for social assistance, which is apparently the most important factor to sustain the system.

Fourthly, effective consolidation of governance, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms amongst different line agencies in association with the social assistance system should be considered as it is a good way to save costs and mitigate inclusion and exclusion rates.

PART 2

OPINIONS, OBJECTIVES, CONTENTS AND MEASURES FOR IMPLEMENTING MPSAR

I. INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL BACKGROUND

1. International background

The globalization is a objective trend, that create opportunities for sustainable development of Vietnam, and the throughout issue is to harmoniously combine the economic growth, social development and social equality, ensure social assistance/social security. Especially, along with the trend of globalization, advance of science and technology that brought the world economy to the period of the development of knowledge-based economy. In the transforming period to knowledge-based economy on the basis of applying advanced science, engineer and high technology, that ecnomic growth will be base on knowledge and creative factors. The combination of two globalization trend and transition to knowledge-base economy has generated a model for economic development all over the world, that create opportunities for development for Vietnam such as remaining the high growth rate, efficient use of all resources, and ensure the social security (creating more jobs, sustainable poverty reduction, diversify the forms of social insurance, toward universal health insurance, provide social assistance for vulnerable group.

During the integration process, Vietnam has actively participated in producing, distributing international source of labour with potential, strength and advantage; at the same time, effort to resolve the social problematic issues within country to joint action with other countries in resolving global issues, ensure the sustainable development with the spririt of positive, active and responsible action (as implementation of Agenda 21 of UN; declaration and 10 Copenhagen commitments on social development, in which priotize employment, tackle poverty and social integration for vulnerable groups; implementation of Millennium declaration with 8 social targets; implementing the commitment when joining ILP, in which approve and implement international labor standard). During the implementation of these commitments, Vietnam has opportunity to make use of international support in term of technology, information, staff training, finance to enhance the resources for the implementation of social policy, ensure social assistance/social security. The social commitments include ensuring the social security for all people, focusing on sustaiable poverty reduction, social assistance for vulnerable group, ethnic minority in the context of globalization have been concerned by the State and Communist Party and implemented from central to local government is the decisive factor to ensuring social assistance/social security.

Vietnam is a developing country, that need to find an appropriate solution to make use of being a member of ASEAN ( in term of economy, security, culture and social), WTO and upcoming TPP in social field in general and in social assistance/social security in particular. The great difficulties and challenges has been magnified in the situation of Vietnam easily falling into middle income trap with small-scale GDP, low GDP per capita, which achieve many goals, priotize for economic growth so resouces mobilized for social development in general and for social assistance/social protection is limited. Especially, responding to financial crisis and financial downturn has big impact to social assistance/social protection. Predicting in future, the cycle of economic crisis internationally and regionally tends to shorten, with higher intensity, so we need to actively respoind in long term (stragetic) as well as in short-term (emergency) in implementing SA/SP policy for the next period.

2. National background

Vietnam is a country with large population size. Given many years of good implementation in poppulation and family planning policy, Vietnam has been sucessful in controlling the birth explosion, reaching the alternative birth rate. The total fertility rate continue to decrease, estimate to reach 2.0% in 2020. The poppulation growth rate is expected to be 1.04% in the period 2011-2020, poppulation size is 92.25 million people in 2020 and in the phase of golden poppulation struture, with the abudant labour sources, expecially young labour in the group age 15-34 years old that accounted for a large proportion of labor force. Seizing this opportunity, develop the potential of human resources in Vietnam in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization to be the breakthrough step for the successful strategic target in socio-economic development to 2025 to create premise for the combinated target of socio-economic development and social justice, social equality, ensuring SA/SP.

As forecasted, Vietnam economy continue to develop, by 2020, Vietnam basically becomes a modern industrialized country. The GDP scale increases leading to a increase in State budget revenue, resource allocation structures. The public spending will change in the direction of increasing investment in social policy, SP/SA and social welfare. The economic scale and GDP per capita is expected to rise (to 2020, the economic scale can reach the stage of over 300 billion UDD/year, the overall living standard will raise to be 2.8-3 times higher than in 2010). In the context of successful achievement of strategy in economic development and sustainable poverty reduction will better tackle the social issues, ensura social security and social welfare; at the same time, with the involvement of society in solving social issues, implementing SA/SP and social welfare in the spirit of socialization will be expanded.

The population-aging trend also create greater challenges in the sustainability of SA/SP policies, programmes. Stepping into the population-aging period, the elderly rate (over 60) rapidly increase, hitting the rate of 15% in 2025 (Chart 4). Due to the large quantity of elderly people reaching 60 years old, the population size for this group is expected to be double in 10 years, reaching 833 thousand people in 2020. In average, 600 thousand elderly entering 60 threshold every year, increase around 7.5%/year. That pose a great challenge for SA system, especially in health and social pension policy.

The transition process from Socialist-oriented market economy, promoting all resources for the development but leading to many social risks due to the institutional reform, defect, shortcoming and failure of market mechanism (market failure) in which most of the negative impacts are challenges to the implementation of SA/SP policy. The process of urbanization and industrialization has create opportunity for promoting the restructuring of agricultural labor at rural area however it also pose the challenges to labour market policy, especially vocational training and job allocation. The process of shifting labor from agriculture to non-agriculture, from rural to urban area will increase the risk of work loss of labor in rural area. Also, the economic restructuring process will lower the job security, increase the risk of unemployment. The poverty reduction rate tends to slow down, inequality tends to speed up. Beneficiary tends to live in rural area, mountainous, remote area, area that ethnic minority living, under-developed area. Hence the issue of balancing of economic development by regions and ensuring SA/SP is stiff in short term and long term.

Vietnam is located in a harsh climate area, which high frequency of rain, storm and floods, which mainly affects to live and income of people. The global climate change has great impact to the implementation of SP policy, significant impact to composition, resilience or productivity of natural eco-systems and under-managed eco-system or to activities of socio-economic system or health and welfare (according to the UN Convention on climate change). According to experts on social climate change, to 2100, the average temperature in Vietnam could rise to 30°C and sea level could rise by 1m. As a consequence, around 40,000 km2 coastal delta in Vietnam is under water; Red River and Mekong River Delta are sunken areas leading to higher damage in case of occurrence of flood, salinity and extremely harsh weather. In which, 90% of Mekong River Delta is totally under water and 10% of people directly suffer from that damage, create a downturn of 10% GDP. If sea level raise about 3m, 25% of whole population will suffer from that, as happened from salinity in 2005. A strategy and national programme to actively prevent and avoid the global climate change and environmental protection has been performed, in which the implementation of SA/SP policy is meaningful and long term.

Together with the economic transformation, many socio-economic issues have been raised that related to SA/SP yet have properly answered in both theory and practical. The policy, legislation on SA/SP has not adapted to the requirement of Socialist-oriented market economy and global trend. The need to ensure social sustainability in the context of high risk of volatility in economic development, while Vietnamese experience in preventing, mitigating and tackling risk from economic crisis, diseases, climate change as well as other social issues is limited.

II. OPINION

Firstly, social assistance should be linked with social protection and economic reforming policies to ensure equal distribution throughout the entire economy. The social assistance should be suitable with the economic development process, resolve the problem of equality and be the solutions for all social issues raising from socio-economic development. Consider social investment as an investment for sustainable development and solution for social equality.

Secondly, develop the social assistance on human-centered basis, ensure the principles of transparency, timely, efficiency and friendly approach. Develop the benchmark in social assistance following the multidimensional approach toward minimum living standard for each period.

Thirdly, decentralize, promote the socialization and develop a synchronous legal system. Unify the managing agencies, State will be the leader and promote the involvement of private sectors.

Fourthly, acquiring international experience; strengthen the linkage, international and regional cooperation.

III. OBJECTIVES, TARGETS, SCOPE AND TIME

1. General objectives

Develop and complete the SA system in line with amended Constitution and Resolution No 15-NQ/TW; basically ensure the social security, help people prevent, mitigate the risk and have opportunities to involve in social development; increase coverage of SA, prioritize people with special circumstances, ensure the social justice, equality and sustainable development.

2. Specific objectives

- Raising awareness, capacity and approach of related agencies in implementing SA policy

- Improve the efficiency of SA, continue to expand the group of beneficiary with appropriate type of assistance, gradually increase the supporting level based on minimum living standard in line with the specific socio-economic context, state budget capability, ensure people in need access the monthly allowance.

- Develop the network of social assistance centers, develop the community-based model nurturing people with special circumstances, promote the involvement of private sectors in implementing model for nurturing elderly people, orphaned children, PWD, especially nursing house for elderly people.

- Better implement the emergency relief, ensuring the prompt support for people suffered from risks and natural disaster; complete the mechanisms and implementing methods, enhance the efficiency in emergency assistance; promote the involvement of community

3. Indicator

3.1. Indicators in the period 2016-2020

- Around 4% of population is entitled to monthly social benefit.

- More than 50% of elderly people having no supporting people, PWD, children with special circumstances, people exposed to domestic violence, victims of people trafficking, people wandering on the streets for living are managed, coeunslled and cared at social assistance centers.

- 70% of districts, communes, cities of province have social work center; ensuring the rate of every 2,000 people having at least 1 professional social worker and every 500 every people having 1 professional social carer.

3.2. Indicators in the period 2020 - 2025

- Around 4% of population is entitled to monthly social benefit.

- More than 75% of people with special circumstances are managed, conselled and cared at social assistance centers.

- 80% of districts, communes, cities of provinces have social work center; ensuring the rate of every 1,500 people having at least 1 professional social worker and every 400 every people having 1 professional social carer.

3.3. Indicators to 2030

- Ensuring 100% of people in need entitled to monthly social benefit.

- 100% of districts, communes, cities of provinces have social work center; ensuring the rate of every 1,000 people having at least 1 professional social worker and every 400 every people having 1 professional social carer.

4. Beneficiary, scope and duration of MPSAR