Ho Chi Minh City Opens Up More Opportunities for Poor Families

Since 2014, Ho Chi Minh city has raised the poverty standard to VND16 million per person per year. With diverse newly-issued policies, this year, poor people will gain more opportunities to escape poverty. Under the new poverty standard, there are currently 130,000 poor families in the city, accounting for 7.21% of its population, besides 50,000 others being nearly-poor families (families with an income of VND16-VND21 million per person per year). With a target to reduce the poverty rate to below 3% by the end of 2015, the city will earmark over VND7 trillion to care for poor and nearly-poor families. Accordingly, poor and nearly-poor families will be given credit loans at a preferential interest rate, and assisted with an average amount of VND10 million each family to promote production and shift the industrial structure. The capital will also help the poor and nearly-poor improve their health, increase occupational competence, improve hygienic and environmental conditions, and upgrade houses with a loan worth VND30 million for each family. Each year, the city will give free vocational training to 2,000 laborers, and create jobs for 15,000 poor and nearly-poor laborers. Not only being given medical insurance cards, poor patients at public hospitals will be assisted with fees for lunches. In addition, poor pupils’ and students’ school fees will be exempted. Poverty reduction program in the city has been launched since the 1990s, with many improvements in poverty reduction having been achieved. From 2004 to 2013, the city fund for the poor alone distributed loans worth VND1.593 trillion to 310,649 poor families to help them expand production and business, improve their living standards, facilitate their children’s study, promote labor export, and conduct safe water and environmental hygienic programs. In addition, the Bank for Social Policies gave loans worth VND3.52 trillion to hundreds of thousands of poor families, pupils and students. If other resources are included, the credit for the poor over the past 10 years has been calculated at over VND7.994 trillion. Together with it, over 14,700 poor people were given vocational training; over 125,000 poor laborers were given jobs; 10,571 poor families were given charitable houses; 293,237 pupils and students were granted scholarships; and nearly 2.4 million poor people were provided medical insurance cards.  (http://dangcongsan.vn Feb 7)