Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng greets Heroic Vietnamese Mothers attending the 2026 National Conference Honouring People with Meritorious Service to the Revolution in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photos Văn Điệp

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng on Thursday reaffirmed the Party and State's commitment to improving care for people with meritorious service, as a nationwide campaign was launched to mobilise greater support for war veterans, families of fallen soldiers and other beneficiaries ahead of the 79th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs' Day (July 27, 1947–July 27, 2026).

Addressing the event, the PM said caring for people with meritorious service is both a consistent policy of the Party and State and a moral responsibility shared by society. He urged authorities at all levels, businesses and the wider public to continue improving support for beneficiaries and their families.

The campaign was launched during the 2026 National Conference honouring people with meritorious service to the revolution. The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, Nhân Dân (The People) Newspaper, Vietnam Television and the Hà Nội People's Committee.

Senior Party and State leaders, representatives of ministries and central agencies, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Heroes of Labour, revolutionary veterans, former youth volunteers and relatives of fallen soldiers attended the conference.

Acting Minister of Home Affairs Nguyễn Tiến Hải said Việt Nam has officially recognised more than 9.2 million people with meritorious service, including over 1.2 million martyrs, more than 650,000 war invalids and equivalent beneficiaries, over 132,000 Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, and more than 320,000 resistance fighters and their children affected by Agent Orange/dioxin.

Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng addresses the 2026 National Conference Honouring People with Meritorious Service to the Revolution in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

He said the Government has continued to improve policies for beneficiaries in line with President Hồ Chí Minh's call to honour those who sacrificed for the nation's independence.

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs' Day in 2027, amendments to the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for People with Meritorious Service have been introduced. The reforms include expanding eligibility for benefits, increasing standard monthly allowances by 8 per cent from July 1, 2026, and accelerating efforts to search for and identify martyrs' remains.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also reported that the nationwide 'Paying Gratitude' movement has continued to expand. Between 2020 and 2025, the national Gratitude Fund mobilised more than VNĐ3 trillion (nearly US$114 million), helping build nearly 36,000 gratitude houses, repair almost 31,000 homes and provide more than 57,000 savings accounts for beneficiaries.

Speaking at the event, PM Hưng said the country's achievements had been built on the sacrifices of generations of revolutionaries, soldiers and civilians who devoted their lives to national liberation and reunification.

He expressed profound gratitude to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Heroes of Labour, war invalids, sick soldiers, families of martyrs and all people who made contributions to the revolutionary cause.

Addressing remaining challenges, PM Hưng noted that more than 175,000 martyrs' remains have yet to be recovered, while around 230,000 martyrs' graves remain unidentified. He also acknowledged that some war veterans, families of fallen soldiers and victims of Agent Orange continue to face difficult living conditions.

He called for greater efforts to improve policies for people with meritorious service while accelerating the nationwide 500-day campaign to search for, recover and identify martyrs' remains.

General Phan Văn Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, hands over personal belongings of fallen soldiers to relatives of martyrs during the 2026 National Conference Honouring People with Meritorious Service to the Revolution. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Điệp

According to the Government, authorities have so far recovered 1,482 sets of remains and seven collective graves, cleared 8,462 hectares of land contaminated by unexploded ordnance, collected DNA samples from 71,491 unidentified graves, obtained around 243,000 biological samples from relatives of missing soldiers and integrated approximately 66,000 DNA profiles into the national population database.

The campaign launched on Thursday seeks to mobilise the entire political system, businesses, organisations, overseas Vietnamese and the wider public to expand support for Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, war veterans, families of fallen soldiers and other people with meritorious service.

During the conference, personal belongings recovered from fallen soldiers were returned to their families, while gifts were presented to Heroic Vietnamese Mothers and other representatives of people with meritorious service.

Businesses and commercial banks also pledged hundreds of billions of đồng through the Việt Nam Fatherland Front to support programmes benefiting people with meritorious service. — VNS