Decision No. 1614/QD-TTg approving a master scheme To change the method of poverty measurement from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional approach for the 2016-2020 period

12 THE PRIME MINISTER No. 1614/QD-TTg OFFICIAL GAZETTE Issue nos 09-12/St>ptt>mber 2015 THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness Hanoi, September 15, 2015 DECISION Approving a master scheme "To change the method of poverty measurement from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional approach for the 2016-2020 period"(*J Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government; Pursuant to the National Assembly's Resolution No. 76/2014/QHl 3 of June 24, 2014, on stepping up the realization of the sustainable poverty reduction goal by 2020; At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, DECIDES: Article 1. To approve a master scheme "To change the method of poverty measurement from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional approach for the 2016-2020 period" with the following principal contents: I. REQUIREMENTS 1. The scheme must be elaborated based on scientific grounds and suitable to the country's socio-economic development level and capacity to mobilize and balance internal resources in each period. 2. It can identify beneficiaries of pove1ty reduction and social security policies; and socio economic development programs and policies of the whole countiy and of specific regions and sectors. 3. It can step-by-step ensure the minimum living standards for the people and their access to basic social services. 4. It must be in line with common trend of the world and domestic living standards can be compared with those of the world and the region. II. CONTENTS 1. Setting pove1ty measurement criteria for the 2016-2020 period a/ Income-based criteria The income-based minimum living standard means an income level that can cover the most essential needs of each person to live, including food and foodstuff and non-food and -foodstuff consumption demand suitable to the countiy's socio-economic conditions in each period. The income-based pove1ty line means an income level below which the income of a household may be regarded as a poor household's income. The income-based pove1ty line shall C-J Cong Bao Nos 1007-1008 (27/9/2015) © Vietnam Law and Legal F ornm Issue nos 09-12/September 2015 OFFICIAL GAZETTE 13 be used to dete1mine the c01mtry's income-based poverty scale and beneficiaries of the support policies (called policy-beneficiaiy poverty line). The income-based average living standard means the income level at which a person has reached the society's average living condition, including food and foodstuff and non-food and foodstuff consumption demand suitable to the countiy's socio-economic conditions in each period. b/ Level of destitute access to basic social services Basic social services include five services, namely healthcare, education, housing, safe water and sanitation, and info1mation access; Indicators measuring the level of destitution include the following 10 indicators: (1) years of schooling; (2) child school attendance; (3) access to medical services; (4) health insurance; (5) housing quality; (6) average per-capita housing area; (7) daily water sources; (8) type of flush toilet/lati·ine; (9) access to telecommunication services; and (10) assets for info1mation technology access. Multi-dimensional deprivation threshold means a level of deprivation a household deprived at a level higher than which shall be regarded as being deprived of basic social services, by one-third or more of the indicators. 2. Setting the poverty line for the 2016-2020 period Setting the poverty line for the 2016-2020 period in the direction of combining income based pove1ty line and the level of deprivation of access to basic social services; building the minimum living standard to gradually ensure social security for all people with the immediate application of the policy-beneficiaiy pove1ty line to classify poor households suitable to the budget-balancing capacity, specifically as follows: A poor household means a household having a monthly per-capita income equivalent to or lower than the policy-beneficiary poverty line or having a monthly per-capita income higher than the policy-beneficiaiy pove1ty line but lower than the 1ninimum living standard and deprived in one-third or more of the total indicators of deprivation of access to basic social services. A near-poor household means a household having a monthly per-capita income higher than the policy-beneficiaiy pove1ty line but lower than the 1ninimum living standard and deprived in less than one-third of the total indicators of deprivation of access to basic social services. A household without full access to basic social services means a household having a monthly per-capita income higher than the minimum living standard and deprived in less than one-third of the total indicators of deprivation of access to basic social services. A household living below the average standard means a household having a monthly per capita income lower than the average living standard but higher than the minimum living standard. III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCHEME 1. Ministries and central sectors a/ The Ministiy of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall: Act as a standing body to assist the Prime Minister in organizing the implementation of the scheme. Coordinate with the Ministiy of Planning and Investment and related ministries and sectors in elaborating such criteria as the minimum living standard, policy-beneficiaiy poverty line and average living standard (in tenns of income); the household pove1ty line, criteria of ©Vietnam Law and Legal Fomm 14 OFFICIAL GAZETTE Issue nos 09-12/St>ptt>mbt>r 2015 near-poor households and households without full access to basic social services, which shall be submitted to the Prime Minister for promulgation for use as grounds for implementing the poverty reduction and social security policies in the 2016-2020 period. Elaborate plans and devise methods and tools to guide the localities in organizing investigation and identification of beneficiaries of period-beginning, mid-period and pe1iod-end policies (on a biennial basis). Summarize and repo1t to the National Assembly and Government the rate of poor and near-poor households subject to period-beginning, mid-period and period-end multi-dimensional measurement of the whole countiy and provinces and cities. Develop a database to manage poor and near-poor households in the whole countiy in the 2016-2020 period. b/ The Ministiy of Planning and Investment shall: Supplement the dimensional data collection system and multi-dimensional pove1ty index (MPI) in the household living standard survey so as to monitor and evaluate the multi-dimensional pove1ty status of the countiy and localities. Based on the results of the annual household living standard survey, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall make public the common poverty rate (with the updated consumer price index - CPI), the rate of households deprived in access to basic social services, and multi dimensional pove1ty index (MPI) to lay grounds for making 01ientations for regional economic and sectoral development policies as well as pove1ty reduction and social security policies. Add multi-dimensional pove1ty measurement indices to the set of criteria for household living standard survey in order to better reflect the people 's pove1ty aspects, especially indices reflecting results and impacts. c/ The Ministiy of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministiy of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in, balancing resources for implementing the pove1ty reduction policies when changing the method of pove1ty measurement to the multi dimensional approach. d/ The Ministiy of Public Health shall: Study and implement solutions to improve the people's access to medical examination and treatment services, increase health insurance coverage and improve the quality of medical examination and treatment services; Coordinate with the Ministiy of Planning and Investment in studying, adding and updating the indicator measuring the health service access. dd/ The Ministiy of Education and Training shall: Study and implement solutions to increase the schooling rate of children going to school at the appropriate age at each educational level, reduce the rate of drop-outs; and increase adult literacy rate; Coordinate with the Ministiy of Planning and Investment in adding and updating the indicator measuring the educational service access. e/ The Ministiy of Agriculture and Rural Development shall: Study and implement solutions to increase the rate of people with access to safe water and hygienic toilets in mral areas; © Vietnam Law and Legal F ornm Issue nos 09-12/September 2015 OFFICIAL GAZETTE 15 Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in adding and updating the indicator measuring the mral sanitation and safe water service access. g/ The Ministiy of Construction shall: Study and implement solutions to improve poor and near-poor households' access to housing and increase the rate of people having quality houses of presc1ibed area; Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in adding and updating the indicator measuring the housing service access. h/ The Ministiy of Info1mation and Communications shall: Study and implement solutions to increase the people 's info1mation access; Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in adding and updating the indicator measuring the info1mation access. ii The Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs shall coordinate with the Ministiy of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and related ministries in working out solutions to sustainably reduce poverty for ethnic minority people; kl Related ministi-ies and sectors shall base themselves on the level of deprivation of access to basic social services of the whole country and each locality to propose to the Government and the Prime Minister solutions in specific and regular programs and policies so as to improve the people's access to basic social services, especially regions with low access rate. 2. Provincial-level People 's Committees shall: Disseminate the purpose and significance of the change of the method of poverty measurement from one-dimensional to multi-dimensional approach to raise the awareness of autho1ities, sectors and people; Direct investigation to identify and classify beneficiaries of annual poverty reduction policies; Direct the development of a database for management of poor and near-poor households in the 2016-2020 period in the localities; Study and apply solutions to improve local people 's access to basic social services; Based on their practical conditions and capacity, provinces and centrally-nm cities may add dimensions/indices of deprivation; adjust the threshold of measurement of deprivation indices, fully apply the multi-dimensional poverty measurement approach, raise the income based poverty line to be higher than the nation's standard on the condition that they shall balance their own local budgets in accordance with law to suppo1t poor and near-poor subjects in their localities after the standard adjustment and raising. 3. Funds for implementation Flmds for the implementation of the scheme shall be incorporated in the regular expenditure estimates of ministries, sectors, central agencies and localities as assigned under the Law on the State Budget. Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing. Article 3. Ministries, heads of ministerial-level and government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People 's Committees shall implement this Decision. Prime Minister NGUYEN TAN DUNG ©Vietnam Law and Legal Fo1um