Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

More documents

Recommendations

Info

16 TABLE 1. The monitoring points Commune District Province Main ethnic groups Distance to district centre (km) In Programme 30a Commune poverty rate by end of 2011 (%) Thuan Hoa Vi Xuyen Ha Giang Tay, H’Mong 42 No 56.4 Ban Lien Bac Ha Lao Cai Tay, H’Mong 28 Yes 63 Thanh Xuong Dien Bien Dien Bien Kinh, Thai 3 No 7.5 Luong Minh Tuong Nghe An Thai, Kh’Mu 17 Yes 85.3 Duong Duc Huong Vu Quang Ha Tinh Kinh 10 No 43.3 Xy Huong Hoa Quang Tri Van Kieu 36 No 72.1 Cu Hue Eakar Dak Lak Ede, Kinh 2 No 11.4 Phuoc Dai Bac Ai Ninh Thuan Raglai 0,3 Yes 57.8 Phuoc Thanh Bac Ai Ninh Thuan Raglai 14 Yes 70.9 Thuan Hoa Cau Ngang Tra Vinh Kh’mer, Kinh SOURCE: Commune information sheets 2 No 26.7 Note: The maps used in the various tables of this report are from “Poverty Map of 2008”, based on 2008 VHLSS data. Darker colours indicate higher poverty rates. Source: “Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam: Achievements and Challenges”, Poverty Assessment Synthesis Report 2008-2010, Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, October 2010. The communities chosen for poverty monitoring are in areas with severe difficulties and reflect the great diversity of rural Viet Nam. For example: • Geographical diversity and topography: The monitoring points span the length of the country, from the northern mountainous areas, through the north-central and coastal south-central regions and the central highlands, and down to the Mekong Delta. A range of topographies are represented, including high mountains (Ban Lien-Lao Cai, Luong Minh-Nghe An, Thuan Hoa-Ha Giang), low mountains (Thanh Xuong-Dien Bien, Duc Huong-HT, Xy-Quang Tri, Phuoc Dai and Phuoc Thanh- Ninh Thuan), highlands (Cu Hue-Dak Lak), and delta areas (Thuan Hoa-Tra Vinh). • Ethnic diversity: The monitoring areas include numerous ethnic groups, such as Kinh, Tay, Thai, H’Mong, Kh’Mu, Van Kieu, Ede, Raglai, and Kh’mer. • Remoteness: The monitoring took place near district centres and at sites 30 to 40 kilometres from the centre. • Poverty situation: The monitoring points include some communes with good poverty reduction results, as assessed against the poverty line introduced by the Government for the 2011-2015 period, with poverty rates around 15 percent (Thanh Xuong, Cu Hue), and also some extremely poor communes with poverty rates above 70 percent. It is noteworthy that nine out of ten communes are in areas designated as difficult by Decision 30 of the Prime Minister (with the one exception being Thanh Xuong-Dien Bien). Four communes (Ban Lien, Luong Minh, Phuoc Dai and Phuoc Thanh) are included in Programme 30a, which was initiated by the Government at the end of 2008 and aims at rapid and sustainable poverty
eduction in the 61 poorest districts of the country (the number of districts has subsequently been changed to 62 due to administrative re-division). A core poverty monitoring assessment group of 15 to 25 people was established in each province. The group comprised of: 17 • Representatives of provincial departments: Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Statistics Office, Farmer’s Association, Women’s Union, and Youth Union. • Representatives of district divisions: Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; Agriculture and Rural Development; Finance and Planning; Statistics; Fatherland Front; Farmer’s Association; Women’s Union; Youth Union; and field staff of ActionAid and Oxfam programmes in the localities. • Representatives from communes and villages selected for survey. Core groups were responsible for monitoring in their own locality, and were involved in organization as well as data collection and the drafting of field reports. They received technical support from consultants of Truong Xuan (Ageless) Company and Programme Officers from ActionAid and Oxfam. The framework: themes and hypotheses Data collection was organised around four themes and hypotheses. THEME 1: The gap between the rich and the poor. Poverty, disadvantage, and inequality are often the result of power imbalances. The gap between the rich and the poor can be defined quantitatively as differences in income, expenditure, and assets, or qualitatively as differences in people’s voice and representation and their access to resources, services, and markets. Hypothesis: in the context of global economic integration and government reform, people who are better educated and better skilled, and who have access to social networks and supporting services, are more likely to progress faster than those who do not enjoy such advantages. THEME 2: Vulnerability. Poor people and communities often face serious and sustained risks. Poverty is often linked to lack of food security and unstable livelihoods caused by market changes, insecure employment opportunities, lack of social security support, and natural disasters and disease. Hypothesis: with larger cash-commodity production and better access to markets, some people can take better advantage of market opportunities and cope with changes in prices and other risks and shocks. Those who cannot adjust in this way are likely to encounter difficulties or fall back to, or below, the poverty line. THEME 3: Gender Relations. Poor women have roles and voices different from men’s. They also face significant challenges: employment opportunities, equality in discussions and negotiations with men when making key decisions, access to services, participation in community activities, and children’s education. Hypothesis: a general improvement in living conditions is associated with significantly improved roles for women in decisions about their children’s education, in decision-making generally, in community activities, and in the division of household labour. THEME 4: Participation and Empowerment. Strengthening the role and voice of poor people requires increasing access information, levels of participation, and even taking the lead in monitoring and evaluation local poverty alleviation programmes and projects. Hypothesis: in the new economic conditions, local authorities will face challenges in bringing higher levels of decentralization, participation,
Page 3: PARTICIPATORY POVERTY MONITORING IN
Page 7: PREFACE 1 7 In early 2007, Viet Nam
Page 10 and 11: ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS 10 ActionAi
Page 12 and 13: 12 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The last five
Page 14 and 15: 14 and improve monitoring and evalu
Page 18 and 19: 18 transparency, and accountability
Page 20 and 21: 20 TABLE 2. Characteristics of the
Page 23: Part 1 Poverty Trends and Key Theme
Page 26 and 27: Participatory poverty monitoring in
Page 61: Part 2 Challenges to Rural Poverty
Page 66 and 67:
Participatory poverty monitoring in
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 123:
Part 3 Toward Sustainable Rural Pov
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128:
show all

Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?