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Today, the U.S. Labor Department released its annual assessment on forced labor and child labor across the world. For Vietnam, the results are grim. Along with South Sudan and Suriname, Vietnam has been added to a list of 74 countries that have serious child labor issues.

According to the report, products that could likely involve child labor in Vietnam include bricks and garments. Garment production may also involve forced labor.

Nearly all of the Southeast Asian countries, including Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, are included on the list, although the number of products with the risk of child labor production ranges in number.

The report is released in the midst of increased discussions on human trafficking following President Barack Obama affirmation that he would help clamp down on trafficking at the UN summit on Tuesday. Evoking the harshest of terms, Obama said:

It is a debasement of our common humanity. It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organized crime. I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name – modern slavery.

As the new president of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim has been asking, “What will it take?”

That is, what will it take to end poverty when 1.3 billion people are living on less than $1.25/day. As Dr. Kim notes in this new video released by the World Bank, that’s 1 our of every 5 people in this world barely scraping by.

Vietnam fares slightly better with 17% percent of the population (a little under 1 in every 5 people) living at $1.25/day, according to the latest World Bank figures available. But when you inch that number up to $2/day, the proportion of the population living in poverty is nearly half at 43%.

So we’re just as curious as Dr. Kim. What do you think it takes to end poverty? Will it be in collective action and people combining resources for a common good? Will it be private sector growth and new job openings? Is it a world where everyone is an entrepreneur? How does the environment fit into the equation? Is it a combination of everything?

Watch Dr. Kim’s video below after the jump.

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