Decree No. 07/2021/ND-CP regulations on multidimensional poverty standards for 2021-2025

DECREE

Promulgating multidimensional poverty standards for
the 2021-2025 period^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs;

The Government promulgates the Decree promulgating multidimensional poverty standards for the 2021-2025 period.

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Decree promulgates criteria for multidimensional poverty measurement; standards of poor households, near-poverty households, and better-off households, and responsibility for organizing performance of poverty reduction work during 2021-2025.

2. Subjects of application

a/ Households.

b/ Agencies, units, organizations and individuals engaged in poverty reduction and social welfare work.

Article 2. The 2021 poverty standards with multidimensional approach 

1. From January 1, 2021, to further implement poverty standards with multidimensional approach applied in the 2016-2020 period under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 59/2015/QD-TTg of November 19, 2015.

2. Poverty standards mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article serve as a basis for measuring and supervising levels of deprivation of people’s income and access to basic social services; identifying beneficiaries of poverty reduction and social welfare policies; and formulating other socio-economic policies in 2021.

Article 3. Multidimensional poverty standards for the 2022-2025 period

1. Criteria for multidimensional poverty measurement in the 2022-2025 period

a/ Income criterion

- In rural areas: Having a monthly per capita income of VND 1,500,000.

- In urban areas: Having a monthly per capita income of VND 2,000,000.

b/ Criterion on the level of deprivation of basic social services

- Basic social services (6 services), including employment; healthcare; education; housing; residential water and sanitation; and information.

- Indicators for measuring the level of deprivation of basic social services (12 indicators), including employment; number of dependents; nutrition; health insurance; education level of adults; school attendance of children; housing quality; average housing area per capita; residential water sources; hygienic latrines; use of telecommunications services; and facilities to serve information access.

c/ Basic social services, indicators for measuring the level of deprivation of basic social services, and thresholds of deprivation are specified in the Appendix to this Decree.

2. Standards of poor households, near-poverty households and better-off households in the 2022-2025 period

a/ Standard of poor households

- In rural areas: Households with a monthly per capita income of VND 1,500,000 or less and deprivation of 3 or more indicators for measuring the level of deprivation of access to basic social services.

- In urban areas: Households with a monthly per capita income of VND 2,000,000 or less and deprivation of 3 or more indicators for measuring the level of deprivation of access to basic social services.

b/ Standard of near-poverty households

- In rural areas: Households with a monthly per capita income of VND 1,500,000 or less and deprivation of less than 3 indicators for measuring the level of deprivation of access to basic social services.

- In urban areas: Households with a monthly per capita income of VND 2,000,000 or less and deprivation of less than 3 indicators for measuring levels of deprivation of access to basic social services.

c/ Standard of better-off households

- In rural areas: Households with a monthly per capita income of between over VND 1,500,000 and VND 2,250,000.

- In urban areas: Households with a monthly per capita income of between over VND 2,000,000 and VND 3,000,000.

d/ Standards of poor households, near-poverty households and better-off households specified in Clause 2 of this Article serve as a basis for measuring and supervising the level of deprivation of people’s income and access to basic social services, identifying beneficiaries of poverty reduction and social welfare policies, and formulating other socio-economic policies during 2022-2025.

Article 4. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

a/ To direct localities to review poor and near-poverty households, and identify better-off households according to poverty standards specified in Article 2 of this Decree.

b/ To submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation procedures for annual review of poor and near-poverty households, and procedures for identifying agricultural households, forestry households, fishing households and salt-making households with better-off living standards in the 2022-2025 period.

c/ From 2021, to apply information technology in the annual review of poor and near-poverty households.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a/ To additionally collect data on poverty dimension and multidimensional poverty index (MPI) for the household living standard survey so as to monitor and evaluate the multidimensional poverty status of the country and localities;

b/ To annually make public the overall poverty rate (with updated consumer price index - CPI), the rate of households deprived of access to basic social services, and multidimensional poverty index (MPI).

3. The Ministry of Finance

To balance and allocate funds for implementation of poverty reduction and social welfare policies according to the multidimensional poverty standards in the 2021-2025 period, and apply information technology in annual review of poor and near-poverty households.

4. Relevant ministries and sectors

Based on the level of deprivation of access to basic social services of people in the whole country and each locality, to propose to the Government and Prime Minister solutions in specific and regular programs and policies so as to increase people’s income and access to basic social services, especially in regions with high rates of poor households and near-poverty households.

5. The Committee for Ethnic Affairs shall coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and related ministries and sectors in working out, guiding and implementing solutions to sustainably reduce multidimensional poverty for ethnic minority people and people in mountainous areas;

6. The Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations shall intensify supervision of the implementation of multidimensional poverty standards during 2021-2025, and the implementation of policies and programs to support poor households, near-poverty households, and better-off households, ensuring publicity and transparency with eligible beneficiaries.

7. Responsibilities of provincial-level people’s Committees

a/ To provide information, and raise awareness of local authorities, sectors and people, about multidimensional poverty standards in the 2021-2025 period; to review and identify poor households and near-poverty households in their localities;

b/ To review poor and near-poverty households at the beginning of the period; to annually review poor and near-poverty households according to the multidimensional poverty standards in the 2021-2025 period; to classify beneficiaries of poverty reduction and social welfare policies on an annual basis; and to annually identify agricultural households, forestry households, fishing households, and salt-making households with better-off living standards.

c/ To implement solutions to increase local people’s income, and access to, and efficient use of, basic social services;

d/ Based on local practical conditions and capacity, provinces and centrally run cities may raise the income criterion to a level higher than national one provided that they can balance their local budgets in accordance with law, and add criteria for measuring the level of deprivation of access to basic social services (including name of services and indicators of deprivation); and adjust measuring thresholds of indicators of deprivation to implement programs and policies supporting poor and near-poverty households in localities.

Article 5. Effect

1. This Decision takes effect on March 15, 2021.

Article 6. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decision.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC