Impact Assessment of Poverty Reduction Programs of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

The main purpose of this report is to measure the impact of poverty reduction programs and policies of Ho Chi Minh City – the biggest city in Vietnam - in the period 2009-2013 using both quantitative and quality methods. In general, poverty reduction programs have positive impacts on living conditions of poor households. Having access to these programs enables poor/near-poor households to increase income and have better access to decent jobs. In addition, tuition-fee reduction and exemption and health insurance programs help households reduce education and medical expenses. However, there are a number of problems such as limited support fund and poor awareness of the poor/near-poor about the vocational training, unreasonable support mechanism and inconsistency in line departments’ coordination.