approaching social security standards in Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

On December 11, in Hai Phong city, the Central Propaganda Committee and the Vietnam Social Security held a conference to evaluate 3 years of propaganda work of Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW dated May 23, 2018 of the 12th Party Central Committee on social insurance policy reform.

Accordingly, Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW, issued on May 23, 2018 of the Party Central Committee, is considered to have the contents of reforming the social insurance policy progressively, approaching social security standards in Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The improvement of the reform-oriented social insurance policy in line with Resolution No. 28 will create new breakthroughs, the interests of social insurance participants will be increasingly better guaranteed.

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Reform of social insurance policy towards universal coverage is comprehensively recognized from inputs to outputs. That is the completion of the rate of social insurance participation in comparison to the people in the working age group (35% to 2021; 45% to 2025; 60% to 2030); and the number of people after the age of pension entitlement to enjoy pensions, with the proposed rate of 45% by 2021; 55% by 2025 and 60% by 2030.

Social insurance policy reform not only pays attention to workers in the formal sector, but also on farmers, workers in the informal sector - this is a gap that was not yet fully addressed in policy making before. By 2025, out of 45% of the labor force in the age of participating in social insurance, the farmers and informal employees participating in voluntary social insurance account for about 2.5% of the workforce.

Within 10 years implementing the voluntary social insurance policy, from 2008 to 2018, the total number of new voluntary social insurance participants reached about 280,000 people. In 2019, the process of developing participants of voluntary social insurance recorded an impressive breakthrough, with a new increase of nearly 300,000 people. The total number of people participating in voluntary social insurance has so far reached 580,000 people. That means, in just one year of implementation, the number of people who participate in voluntary social insurance is 1.07 times compared to that of the whole 10-year period.

Following the direction of Vietnam Social Security, 100% of the social insurance agencies of provinces and cities actively and promptly advised the Party committees and authorities to promulgate documents directing the implementation of Resolution No. 28 -NQ/TW in the locality. It is noteworthy that along with the propaganda of Resolution No. 28 NQ/TW of the Party Central Committee, the local social insurance authorities also promptly advised and propagated the implementation of Resolution No. 125/NQ-CP, Resolution No. 102/NQ- CP of the Government on assigning development targets for participants of voluntary social insurance to localities, and proposing to People's Councils at all levels to put the targets on the development of beneficiaries of social insurance and health insurance into economic development targets.

By the end of September 2020, the country had more than 15 million people participating in social insurance, of which over 844,000 people participated in voluntary social insurance; Nearly 87 million people participate in health insurance, reaching a coverage rate of 89.6% of the population. In the context of complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic, it can be said that these are extremely important results in the implementation of the 2020 targets that the Government has assigned to the Vietnam Social Security.

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Having the above results, in addition to the efforts of the social insurance sector, it must include the active participation of the authorities at all levels, the coordination of the relevant ministries and agencies, the close cooperation and coordination of the media and press agencies.

From October 2018 to December 2020, only at the central level, the Vietnam Social Security cooperated with ministries, sectors, socio-political organizations and unions to organize more than 300 conferences on social insurance and health insurance policies with the participation of more than 53,000 people; coordinated with the media and press agencies to publish and broadcast over 23,000 news, articles, reports, special pages, columns... to propagate policies and laws on social insurance, especially voluntary social insurance.

At the local level, the social insurance agencies of provinces and cities coordinated with departments, agencies, and unions to organize more than 39,000 conferences on social insurance and health insurance with the participation of over 2.4 million people.

Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Social Security Dao Viet Anh said: “The direction and guidance of the Central Propaganda Committee for the propaganda and dissemination of guidelines and policies of the Party, the State’s policies and law on social insurance and health insurance always play an especially important role. The Vietnam Social Security acknowledges and highly appreciates the advisory role of the Provincial Party Committees’ Propaganda and Education Bureau in implementing and grasping Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW.”

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After nearly 3 years of implementing the Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW, 100% of the Propaganda Committee of the Provincial Party Committees promptly issued plans and action programs to direct and orient the propaganda system at all levels, the press agencies, media, departments, branches and reporters to strengthen propaganda about Resolution 28, which contributed to orienting public opinion, building, consolidating and fostering people's confidence in the leadership of the Party and the State on social security in general and social insurance and health insurance policies in particular.

After nearly 3 years of implementing the Resolution 28, under the direction and guidance of the Central Propaganda Committee, the propaganda for the implementation of Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW on the Party's social insurance policy reform has been seriously implemented in a synchronous and unified method nationwide. The change in awareness, ideological views with a very high political determination in the whole political system was raised one step. This is an opportunity and orientation for the ministries, branches and the Vietnam Social Security as well as related organizations and individuals to complete and organize the implementation of policies and laws on social insurance, ensuring that all people can enjoy the social security policy of the Party and State.

Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Social Security Dao Viet Anh suggested that in the coming time, the Vietnam Social Security and the Central Propaganda Committee to continue to maintain and implement stronger and more drastic joint programs between the Vietnam Social Security and the Central Propaganda Department in directing and guiding the propagation of the Party's guidelines, State policies and laws on social insurance and health insurance, especially promoting the propaganda of the Resolution No. 28 NQ/TW, contributing to the completion of the targets set by the Resolution.

In addition, the leaders of the Central Propaganda Committee would continue to pay attention to, direct the extensive propaganda of the Resolution, the results of the implementation of the Resolution and the promulgation of the mechanism to inspect and supervise the implementation of the guiding documents of Resolution No. 28 for Party Committees at all levels.

“In particular, the Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Bureau should regularly direct Party agencies at all levels to strengthen the inspection of the implementation of Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW at the grassroots to promptly detect problems and shortcomings, from which timely work out solutions to solve them; timely encourage and reward good people, good units; at the same time, seriously criticize the units and individuals that are limited in leadership and direction for the implementation of Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW,” said Deputy General Director Dao Viet Anh.

Thuy Nguyen