Prime Minister asks for effective poverty reduction efforts

Poverty reduction efforts yielded encouraging outcomes in 2014, particularly in disadvantaged areas, but more practical measures are needed to make developments more sustainable, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung declared at a national teleconference in Hanoi on February 5.

According to initial reports, the number of households under the poverty line in Vietnam decreased from 7.8% in 2013 to 5.8-6% by the end of 2014. Impoverished districts saw the number of low-income families reduce to 33.2% from 38.2% in 2013.

However, such outcomes remain unsustainable due to the persistently high rate of poverty relapse and a widening income gap among different regions and populations, particularly in northern mountainous areas and the Central Highlands.

Meanwhile, ethnic minority groups comprise nearly 50% of impoverished households in the country with an average income of only one-sixth of the national figure, according to the reports.

Chairing the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung commended efforts by the Central Steering Committee for Sustainable Poverty Reduction as well as ministries and localities.

He also discussed shortcomings in their efforts while asking the steering committee to continue overhauling related policies with a focus on ethnic minority areas.

The leader told localities to summon resources for poverty elimination by engaging businesses and local communities.

At the event, sectors and localities set a target rate of low-income households below 5% nationwide and below 30% in poverty-stricken districts this year. The respective figures are hoped to further fall by 1-1.5% and 3-4% annually from 2016 to 2020.

They also plan to promote access to basic social services such as healthcare, education and insurance for the poor and those just above the poverty line.

Participants asked the Government to increase its support for infrastructure development in coastal areas, extend credit terms for the disadvantaged, and improve labour export systems for rural and mountainous regions.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)