CPRGS IN THE FIVE-YEAR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2006-2010

1. CPRGS IN THE FIVE-YEAR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2006-2010 §inh Thi Chinh Ministry of Planning & Investment Hanoi, april 2006

2. Content • CPRGS objectives in growth and poverty reduction in Vietnam. • Vietnam’s achievements in social development and poverty reduction. • Changes in the planning process toward poverty reduction and increased participation. • Changes in content and methods of making five-year SEDP 2006-2010 with a strong focus on poverty reduction. • Integrating budget allocation into poverty reduction. • Lessons learned and challenges.

3. 1. CPRGS objectives in growth and poverty reduction in Vietnam • Align high & sustainable economic growth with social progress and equity. • Create an enabling environment. • Restructure the economy. • Promote human development. • Expand social safety net. • Embrace public administration reform • Develop a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system.

4. 2. Vietnam’s achievements in social development and poverty reduction • Poor households (by national standards 2001-2005) decreased from 17.5% in 2001 to 8.3% in 2004 and 7% in 2005. • Vietnam fulfilled MDGs 10 years ahead of schedule in terms of poverty reduction, from 58.1% in 1993 to 19.5% in 2004. • The rich and poor gap is slowed down. • Significant progress is made in the social sector, including eduction, science, health, population and family planning.

5. Poor households 2000-2005 (by national standards 2001-2005)

6. Record of social targets 2004-2005

7. 3. Changes in the planning process toward poverty reduction and increased participation Three pillars - economic, social, environmental - of the five year SEDP 2006-2010. • Planning capacity building. • Provide with local government training on: • Raising the public awareness through workshops. • Introducing principles, rules and developments. • Adopting new approaches in making planning. • Methods of calculating targets

8. 3. Changes in the planning process toward poverty reduction and increased participation • Input and information for the planning process. • Organising international workshops. • Using findings on the living standards surveys and poverty assessments. • Conducting thematic studies of importance.

9. 3. Changes in the planning process toward poverty reduction and increased participation • Consultation process. • Send workshop documents. • Organise regional workshops. • Hold consultation. • Ministries and sectors organise workshops on their respective and national plans. • Develop result-based M&E system.

10. 3. Changes in the planning process toward poverty reduction and increased participation • Some provinces organise theme-based training workshops as a way of making the five-year plan, focusing on: • Raising awareness of civil servants and people about the CPRGS. • Introducing principles, process, and methods of making annual and five-year socio-economic development plans. • Adopting a new approach in planning: strategic, result-based, and participatory planning, and linking plan-making to resource allocation…

11. 4. Changes in content and methods of making five-year SEDP 2006-2010 with a strong focus on poverty reduction Requirements of the five-year plan: • The SEDP 2006-2010 meets the need of broad-based reforms and links socio-economic activities to global ecnomic integration. • The SEDP places special emphasis on quality of development.

12. 4. Changes in content and methods of making five-year SEDP 2006-2010 with a strong focus on poverty reduction • The five-year plan specifies objectives set in the sectoral development strategies, CPRGS, VDGs and Vietnam’s international commitments. • The five-year plan incorporates poverty reduction, sustainable development, women and youth issues, ethinic minorities, and M&E as well.

13. 4. Changes in content and methods of making five-year SEDP 2006-2010 with a strong focus on poverty reduction • The plan aims to release the forces of production, esp. non-state sector. • State-managed resources are used to better respond to non-profit, social infrastructure development. • Budgets are managed and allocated in an open and transparent manner. • International standards and best practices are adopted in making plans.

14. 4. Changes in content and methods of making five-year SEDP 2006-2010 with a strong focus on poverty reduction • Local governments are empowered in the planning process. • The making of five-year plans is based on socio-economic analysis and assessment, socio-economic development targets, higher education attainment, better healthcare, poverty reduction, and policy matrix designed to achieve the prescribed objectives.

15. Several social targets of the five-year plan 2006-2010 A strong focus on social sector and poverty reduction: • Poverty rate by new standards at 10-11% by 2010. • 8 millions new jobs created. • Urban unemployment under 5%. • Mortility rate among children under one: 16/1,000; children under five: 25/1,000.

16. Several social targets of the five-year plan 2006-2010 • Maternal mortility down to 60/100,000… • Social safety net developed. • Better child and mother healthcare. • Life improvement for ethnic minorities. • Gender equality, women empowerment, and child’s rights protection…

17. 5. Integrating budget allocation into poverty reduction • Three channels of resources for poverty reduction: • Investment in projects and programs contributing to poverty reduction. • Investment in national targeted programs to reducte poverty. • Investment in economically-developed regions, sectors and areas of comparative advantage to generate “break-through” impacts and support poor regions

18. 5. Integrating budget allocation into poverty reduction • Budget allocation is priority-based, with special emphasis on poor regions and communes. • Additional fund is allocated to agriculture and rural development. • Pro-poor and housing-support programs are developed, esp. for the ethnic minority people… • Additional fund is geared towards development objectives in the areas of education, health, culture and social issues, esp. for the poor regions and communes.

19. Development investment by province (%)

20. Targeted support investment for poor provinces (%)

21. 6. Lessons learned and challenges • Growth and poverty reduction go hand in hand in development process. • Priorities must be set as guidelines for resource allocation, and policies and mechanism to meet such objectives. • Broad-based consultation ensures a concensus among sections of the population, making it possible to fully mobilise resources for growth and poverty reduction.

22. 6. Lessons learned and challenges • Decentralisation and empowerment ensure flexibility and accountability among sectors and local governments in economic management and performance. • Challenges remain: • Quality and effectiveness of economic growth remain low. • Poverty reduction gains remain far from sustainable. • The poor have not proactively lifted themselves out of poverty. • Challenges arise from integration, esp. competition. • State resources remain limited. • Staff involved in poverty reduction remain insufficient, and lack training.