Since 2000, Vietnam has made impressive progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs. As of August, the country had achieved MDGs in poverty reduction, education, gender equality and maternal health. Huge progress has also been made towards achieving the MDG on reducing child mortality, according to the United Nations in Vietnam.
In detail, Vietnam has brought its poverty rate down nearly 7-fold, achieved universal primary education and gender equality in access to education and the labour market.
However, there are some concern about the sustainability of Vietnam’s success, the road to complete the unfinished work on MDGs, and in implementing the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.
According to the UN’s final MDG report, the Millennium Development Goals have produced the most successful anti-poverty movement in history and will serve as the jumping-off point for the new sustainable development agenda to be adopted this year.
International determination to realise the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals was reflected at the 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly last March and the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament last week.
Mr Nguyen Sinh Hung, Chairman of National Assembly of Vietnam, said: "We have 17 sustainable development goals, so we have delegated tasks to different legislative committees. For example, the finance committee needs to submit the national budget proposal. The agriculture committee's goal is to double agricultural yields in 5 years. All committees will need to take sustainable development issues into account".
Based on the momentum of the MDGs, the new 17 global goals are expected to break fresh ground in terms of economic growth, climate change mitigation, cities and human settlements, industrialisation and peace and justice.
