Since gaining independence, the Party has always prioritized citizens’ lives, considering public happiness the ultimate goal. Uncle Ho famously advised that independence without freedom isn’t truly meaningful. Hence, constitutional rights to social security and social welfare, encompassing the rights to education, protection, healthcare, employment, and lawful housing have been relentlessly perfected over decades.
After 40 years of renovation following the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, these dynamic social policies ensure the legitimate rights of the people are increasingly protected.
Outstanding achievements
Alongside the entire nation, HCMC always cares deeply about every aspect of its residents’ lives. During the early years post-liberation, amidst harsh embargoes, border wars, and the frustrating barriers of a centralized mechanism, the city’s management scrambled to “hustle for rice”, worrying about feeding the people. Concurrently, they worked tirelessly to secure electricity, water, education, and medical treatment for the public.
Driven by a dynamic, creative spirit, city leaders boldly “tore down barriers” to save people from starvation and revive production. This created a vital upward shift, contributing significantly to forging the Party’s renovation policies. Since these guidelines emerged, socio-economic conditions have flourished, meaning citizens’ living standards have incrementally improved. Activities expressing gratitude, supporting families of martyrs, building charity houses, and caring for vulnerable groups are reportedly becoming increasingly meticulous.
HCMC heavily prioritizes human resource development tied to education and labor market expansion. This is the place that successfully completed the universalization of general and early preschool education. Boasting nearly 100 higher education institutions, the city actively contributes to training a high-quality workforce. Starting from the 2025-2026 academic year, HCMC has implemented zero tuition fees for all preschool and K-12 students. From the 2026-2027 school year, it’ll roll out a completely free textbook borrowing initiative, expanding to all grade levels by 2029.
HCMC’s healthcare network is relentlessly expanding with 169 hospitals and over 13,000 medical facilities. They’re actively consolidating three care levels of primary care, specialized treatment, and wellness, striving to become the premier healthcare hub of the ASEAN region.
Currently, the city is executing a peak campaign to roll out a universal free health check-up program in 2026, creating robust electronic health records. Alongside State investments, HCMC is where social participation in education and healthcare is boldly executed to supply increasingly better services.
HCMC is notably the first locality nationwide to deploy a poverty eradication program back in 1992, shifting to forging sustainable livelihoods. From a meager per capita income of US$65 in 1975, the figure had reached over $8,900 by late 2025. While the poverty rate in 1986 stood at a staggering 60 percent, the city has now basically eradicated poverty, setting ambitious targets for 2030 to achieve a per capita income ranging from $14,000 to $15,000.
Regarding housing policies, HCMC is rolling out numerous projects seamlessly tied to urban beautification. It’ll continue developing over 181,000 social housing units in the 2026-2030 period, aiming to relocate over 41,000 houses along canals.
For Mr. Tran Van Nam, a long-time resident along the city’s vulnerable canal system, this push brings newfound hope. “We’ve endured polluted water for decades, so these relocation projects are truly a lifeline,” he explained.
Recently, the city significantly ramped up green spaces and added multiple parks, while offering free bus tickets for residents to effectively curb traffic jams and environmental pollution at the end of the day.
Citizens get to enjoy fruits of development
Stepping into a new era with rigorous demands for rapid and sustainable growth, social policies are approached by the city in a comprehensive, sustainable, and human-centric manner. This versatile policy simultaneously ensures social security and propels development; it both supports and creates incredible opportunities. It effectively protects while concurrently awakening the potential and tangible contributions of citizens, remaining tightly bound to sustainable social development management.
As a special metropolis and the nation’s economic locomotive, HCMC will actively contribute to forging institutions and successfully executing the transition to a modern growth model. The city is pushing hard for decentralization, administrative reform, and elevating public service quality.
It’ll expand social security coverage and aggressively broaden voluntary social insurance. It’s now heavily pushing digital transformation and the modernization of social service supply, inherently expanding online public services in the insurance sector.
The city will persistently push the development of high-quality human resources, closely linking training with strict labor market demands while ramping up digital and green skills. It’s vigorously developing the healthcare and cultural sectors while stringently maintaining social order. HCMC is striving to fundamentally resolve traffic congestion and actively aims to become a completely drug-free city by 2030.
Alongside state resources, the city will mobilize societal ones, tapping into funds from enterprises to genuinely care for social security. It’s deeply integrating social policies with green growth and environmental protection. Ultimately, this builds a humane living environment, ensuring residents have ample opportunities to fairly enjoy the fruits of collective development.
For Ms. Le Thi Mai, a local social worker, this inclusive approach is palpable. “We’ve seen more vulnerable families receiving direct support this year,” she explained, standing outside a community center. At the end of the day, sustainable and socially inclusive development is the clear pathway to realizing the profound aspiration of building a prosperous, civilized nation where absolutely no one is left behind.
Based on that deeply humane developmental orientation, there’s a strong expectation that HCMC will soon meet the strict criteria to enter the top 100 most livable global cities.
HCMC maintains a comprehensive focus on caring for vulnerable groups, offering incredible perks like free health insurance and promoting loans for sustainable poverty reduction. Alongside the community’s dedicated caring activities, the city profoundly promotes the affectionate, loyal qualities of its people, which was especially proven through the grueling trials of the Covid-19 pandemic.
