The government of Vietnam has established poverty reduction as one of its primary social objectives. According to Vietnam’s assessment of its own development goals, it is still a poor country with living standards much lower than many other countries in Southeast Asia. A large number of the poor and isolated minority groups are identified as vulnerable. A new challenge to poverty reduction in Vietnam is the emergence of a new population of individuals living at or below the poverty line, partly as a result of displaced agricultural land. Farmers typically have no other skills and often end up in low-wage urban jobs with little access to education and health care.
