DaNang (VNA) - The National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committeeconvened its 11th plenary session in the central province of Da Nangon October 9 in preparation for the upcoming sixth meeting of the 14th legislature.

Thecommittee will review the Government’s reports on the two-year implementationof the NA’s Decision No. 76/2014/QH13 on promoting sustainable povertyreduction by 2020, the realisation of the national target of gender equality in2017 and the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement onTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with contents regarding employment, tradeunion and health care.

Itwill also mull over the draft law on prevention and combat of harmful effectsof alcohol and the management and use of health insurance fund in 2017, amongothers, Nguyen Thuy Anh, Chairwoman of the committee, said in her openingremarks.

Ministerof Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung reported that at the endof 2017, the rate of poor households in Vietnam was 6.7 percent, down 1.53percent against the previous year.

Duringthe 2015-2017 period, the country’s poverty rate dropped 1.59 percent annually,exceeding the set target of 1-1.5 percent.

Thenumber of poor households nationwide is expected to stand at below 6 percent bythe end of 2018, down from 1-1.3 percent as compared with the figure recordedearlier this year.

Besides,the number of households falling back into poverty declined from 0.13 percentin 2016 to 0.1 percent in 2017.

However,there remain shortcomings in the work such as limited resources, unsustainablepoverty reduction, especially in mountainous, ethnic minority-inhabited andnatural disaster-hit areas and less attention of localities to povertyreduction.

Concludingthe discussion, Anh lauded efforts of the entire political system in promoting sustainablepoverty reduction by 2020.

Thecommittee’s plenary session will go on until October 11.-VNA