U.N. praises Viet Nam's social achievements
Ha Noi, Dec. 17 (VNA) -- Viet Nam has been leading the developing world in cutting poverty rates with the rate down to some 32 percent in recent years from more than 60 per cent in 1990, well ahead of the global schedule for achievement by 2015, says a United Nations report.
The newly-released UN report on index ranking Viet Nam's 61 provinces and major urban areas by social well-being commends that the country has significantly improved access to primary education, clean water and sanitation; and lowered rates of food insecurity, under-five mortality, maternal mortality and fertility. "The result has been a considerable enhancement of human well-being. Vietnamese people now enjoy longer and much healthier lives," the report says. ]
Entitled "Bringing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Closer to the People", the report analyzes Viet Nam's considerable progress towards achieving a range of social goals known as MDGs that Viet Nam has committed to achieve by the year 2015. Ha Noi is leading in the MDG ranking, the report adds.
Notably, the report credits Viet Nam's renewal process for most of the progress to date.
According to Jordan Ryan, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam, "the remarkable social progress that Viet Nam was able to achieve with even small amounts of national income over the past 15 years strongly suggests that as national income continues to grow, Viet Nam can once again surpass conventional expectations and fully achieve all of the MDGs by 2015".
