Vietnam’s efforts to narrow rich-poor gap have been unrewarded, said participants at a conference of the Central Steering Committee for the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction in Hanoi chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. According to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs’ report, over VND10.4 trillion ($452 million) taken from the country’s state budget plus more than VND2.177 trillion ($93.8 million) from 40 cities and provinces’ state budget were earmarked for the program last year. Additionally, the country’s state budget also regularly financed policies in the fields of health care, education, housing, preferential credit, agriculture and forestry extension, and production and legal assistance. However, poverty reduction has not been stable and the rate fresh poor households are high due to natural disasters and family separation. Rich-poor gap is mostly access to basic services, market information, and employment between regions and regions and between groups of residents especially in the northern mountainous region and in the Central Highlands. Meeting participants agreed to focus on mobilizing resources to improve poor people’s livelihood in 2020 and implement the movement “All people join hand to help the poor – No one will be left behind.” The program targets to reduce the poor household rate across the country to 1%-1.5% annually and raise per capita income especially in disadvantaged districts and villages. (Saigon Giai Phong - Liberated Saigon)