The Vietnamese government has planned to spend VND5.06 trillion ($240 million) on the national poverty reduction program this year with an aim to cut the poverty rate to 10% from 12% in 2011, the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) said. Of the sum, VND2.67 trillion will be used for poor districts, coastal and island areas, VND2.26 trillion for disadvantaged communes and border areas and VND46 billion for anti-poverty model expansion project. This year’s poverty reduction program will focus on building infrastructure works and creating jobs for local residents in such disadvantaged areas. Earlier, Ngo Truong Thi, head of the ministry’s co-ordination office for the poverty reduction program said that the MoLISA will call on further supports from individuals and enterprises for the program. The priority would be first given to the poorest areas such as Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang in order to ensure funds and manpower are allocated wisely, he said. Accordingly, each poor district would receive up to VND250 billion this year, compared to around VND200 billion in the previous year. In 2009-2011, Vietnam allocated a total of VND8.5 trillion from the state budget for the poverty reduction program, under which more than 2,000 construction projects were implemented, including roads, bridges, clinics and schools, and over 34,000 dilapidated homes were repaired. By March 2012, up to 2.58 million households were poor and 1.53 million deemed near-poor, showed a national survey by the MoLISA. In fact, poverty reduction in Vietnam remains an urgent priority as new forms of poverty are emerging, which require new approaches and ideas, experts said, urging the country to combine poverty eradication with disaster mitigation because they are closely interlinked. (Tien Phong – Pioneer Aug 17 p5)
