Society

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Vietnam’s Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.703 in 2021, almost equal to the 2019 result of 0.704. In the global HDI rankings, Vietnam climbed two places, from 117th out of 189 countries in 2019 to 115th out of 191 countries in 2021. Its Gender Inequality Index (GII) continued to improve last year, reaching 0.296 and ranking 71st out of 170 countries. The UNDP said Vietnam will face many challenges in the future, such as climate change and economic development depending on global growth.

After five years of implementation, certain provisions in the Law on Pharmacy are no longer consistent with actual circumstances and the process of international integration, causing many difficulties for pharmaceutical enterprises. The Ministry of Health has proposed revising the Law, supplementing certain provisions such as simplifying drug registration procedures and applications for circulation registration certificates.

Having applied a national multi-dimensional poverty line in 2015, Vietnam has been a pioneer in the Asia-Pacific region in applying the line as a tool for targeting and monitoring poverty and policy formulation. However, the poverty that exists among ethnic minorities and people living in some coastal and island areas is a challenge for Vietnam in achieving the sustainable development goals.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has said that Vietnam’s labor market is experiencing uneven development and an imbalance in supply and demand between localities and sectors. Many localities boast industrial parks and export processing zones but only have a small population and workforce. Other localities are focusing on attracting investment but are not capable of handling larger numbers of workers.

The Quang Nam Provincial People’s Council has approved two investment projects with total capital of nearly VND300 billion ($12.76 million) to build or upgrade five district health centers and build, upgrade, or purchase equipment for 76 commune health stations. Implementation is from 2022 to 2023.

After 20 years of offering preferential credit policies for the poor and policy beneficiaries under government resolutions, more than 326,000 poor and near-poor households and beneficiaries in northern Bac Kan province have obtained production loans. Policy credit has contributed to a significant reduction in poverty over the years.