Vietnam Allocates Nearly $80M in Aid of People with Disabilities in 2020

Vietnam is estimated to have distributed VND18.07 trillion ($77.9 million) in support of people with disabilities throughout 2020, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoi, head of the Department of Social Assistance, under the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA) informed at a conference held in Hanoi on December 30 morning. This year, over 39,000 people with disabilities have been granted health insurance, and 207,000 have approached to medicines for free. As many as 3,000 others in rural areas have been provided with vocational training. Additionally, people with disabilities enjoy between 25% and 100% cut in ticket prices while using public transport. Nevertheless, disabled people face several difficulties in getting access to public transport, especially those in rural regions, vocational training, and loans for production, Mr. Hoi indicated. Currently, Vietnam has over 6.2 million people with disabilities, accounting for 7.06% of the population at and above two years old, according to the Vietnam National Committee on Persons with Disabilities. As of end-2020, nearly three million physically-disabled persons were certified as people with disabilities. (Dan Tri, baobaohiemxahoi, Vnanet)