Vietnam is striving to shrink the rate of poverty struck households by two percent per year, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh at a live meeting with leaders of 63 provinces and agencies on April 22.
The meeting discussed implemented programs on reduction of the poverty line across the country. Results show, the rate of poor households in the country dropped from 14 percent in 2010 to 11.76 percent in 2011 and 9.6 percent in 2012. The target rate for this year is around 7.6 percent.
To conduct the stable poverty reduction program in 2011-2012, the government had spent VND10,700 billion (US$512 million) and allocated VND24 trillion to buy health insurance cards for 29 million poor people, ethnic minority community, students, children under six-years-of-age, people just above the poverty line, and those who have got rid of poverty but must achieve sustainable balance.
Every year, the government spends nearly VND6 trillion ($287 million) on tuition fee exemption for more than four million students from low-income families.
Since 2010 to date, around 1.087 million people have received vocational training, including 10.7 percent from families on the poverty line and 5.2 from families close to poverty line and 20.5 percent of ethnic laborers. More than 40,000 people from countryside areas also received vocational training and were able to escape poverty.
In two years, more than one million poor households accessed preferential credit loans to improve their economic condition and 1.9 million households asked for loans at special interest rate for their children’s education.
A part of Program 30A (program to support poverty reduction in 62 poorest districts), state-own companies and corporations pledged to help with VND300 billion in 2012. The Government also allocated a total of VND6.8 trillion to poor districts.
Thanks to the program, to date, the rate of households on the poverty line in 62 poor districts has decreased to 50.97 percent in 2011 and 43.89 percent in 2012.
The government said the orientation for 2013 will focus on families above the poverty line and those who have got rid of poverty, to encourage them to better themselves rather than expect more government assistance.
