Late Prime Minister's initiative with humanitarian value benefits poor people

Twenty-four years ago, in response to late Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's initiative, the Day for the Poor campaign was launched nationwide on October 17, 2000 holds significant humanitarian value.

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A poor residnt in Phu Nhuan District is delighted to receive equipment to eanr living

The campaign was launched by the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. The poverty rate in Ho Chi Minh City has decreased from 1.49 percent to 0.33 percent, exceeding the target set by the Resolution of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress thanks to many support solutions and the determination to escape poverty of needy residents.

Almost a week after being provided with a motorbike, a means of livelihood gifted by the Ho Chi Minh City Fatherland Front Committee during the launch of the peak month ‘For the Poor’ in 2024, single mom Tran Thi Thien Trang in Vo Thi Sau Ward in District 3 who is currently employed as a janitor at a restaurant in Go Vap District, expresses her immense happiness as her travel has become significantly more convenient and secure.

Because she is responsible for the upbringing of three school-aged children, her income has proven insufficient to support four individuals and cover the costs of her children's education despite her efforts to secure employment by doing multiple jobs over years. Currently, she and her children are residing with a younger sibling due to their lack of stable housing. Consequently, her family has experienced cycles of escaping poverty, only to subsequently fall back into it.

Ho Chi Minh City has successfully implemented programs to provide livelihoods for the poor, enabling them to engage in business and trade and increase their family incomes. This has led to significant improvements in their lives.

Resident Pham Thi Thu Hanh in District 5, who has recently escaped poverty, continues to receive support and attention from the local community. This includes gifts and health insurance cards, which provide her with the security she needs to continue her business endeavors and further improve her family's financial condition.

As of now, Ho Chi Minh City has nine areas that have achieved the objective of eliminating all poor or near-poor households, in accordance with the city's multidimensional poverty criteria for the 2021-2025 period. These areas include districts 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, Binh Tan, Tan Phu, Phu Nhuan, and Cu Chi. Notably, district 5 was the first to reach this goal.

At the recent launching ceremony of the Peak Month "For the Poor" in 2024, socio-political organizations, businesses, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front in Ho Chi Minh City registered to build and repair 358 temporary and dilapidated houses worth more than VND20 billion.

The southern metropolis authorities are determined to eradicate houses in poor repair before April 30, 2025.

In recent years, various organizations, departments, and unions in Ho Chi Minh City have worked together to eliminate temporary and dilapidated housing for individuals facing difficult circumstances. For example, the City's Trade Union regularly provides funds to repair trade union shelters.

Throughout the summer volunteer initiatives, the youth of Ho Chi Minh City have jointly repaired houses for underprivileged families and members of the youth union in financial hardships. Additionally, the project titled "Building and Repairing 500 Charity Houses" aims to assist impoverished and near-impoverished households, as well as those in challenging situations within Ho Chi Minh City. This initiative, organized by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and the National Reunification of the country, has successfully provided 575 impoverished families with a sense of security in their new, spacious homes.

To ensure the effectiveness of its poverty reduction program, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee issued Directive 32-CT/TU on strengthening the Party's leadership in achieving sustainable poverty reduction in the city.

The city has set 2024 as a key year to accelerate progress towards its goal of eliminating poverty according to city standards by 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification. Local authorities in Ho Chi Minh City are also actively promoting socialization and mobilizing maximum social resources to participate in poverty reduction efforts.

By the end of 2022, Ho Chi Minh City will have no more poor or near-poor households according to national standards. By the end of June 2024, the city will have more than 21,400 poor or near-poor households, with more than 86,660 people according to city standards. Of these, there are more than 7,170 poor households accounting for 0.28 percent of the total number of households in the city.

The city strives to reduce the rate of poor households by 0.21 percent and the rate of near-poor households by 0.23 percent according to the city's multidimensional poverty standards for the period 2021-2025 by the end of 2024.

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