Besides provincial resources, authorities have also encouraged charitable donations supported by businesses, wealthy individuals, and the general population, with the collective goal of eliminating poverty. In the first six months of this year, the Fund for the Poor had received more than VND25 billion ($1.05 million).

In March, Hung Yen People’s Committee, Hung Yen People’s Council and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee organised a campaign to support the building of houses for the poor and victims of Agent Orange. The campaign raised more than $4.2 million from different organisations and businesses from Hung Yen as well as other localities.

Along with this, Hung Yen People’s Committee expedited Plan No.55/KH-UBND that same month, which made subsidies available for building and maintaining houses for those in need. Hung Yen has assigned the local Department of Labour, War Invalids, and Social Affairs and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee's Hung Yen Branch, along with other relevant organisations, to carry out this plan.

In April, the committee then enacted Order No.1002/QD-UBND which saw 713 households in the province receive around $3,380 each for the construction of new houses, or $1,690 for house repairs. By June, the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Hung Yen Branch had released a total $582,300 under the scheme. In addition, Hung Yen has supported 25 near-poor households with an amount of $2,100 each with funding from the Fund for the Poor.

According to a report from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP)’s Hung Yen Branch, the province provided $2.57 million worth of policy credit packages to nearly 200 local households last year. Building on that momentum, Hung Yen has continued VBSP’s credit policies this year. The bank has received $24.7 million for developing the local economy and society. $2.46 million is earmarked for housing loans, with nearly $3,000 available for student loans.

According to Nguyen Thi Xuan, director of VBSP’s Hung Yen Branch, "The lending process has been planned and thoroughly assessed to ensure that the credit packages reach the right people."

Nguyen Thi Hang, from Trung Nghia ward, who has benefited from the scheme said, "My husband and I are manual labourers, so our income is just enough for day-to-day expenses. We have two kids and have had to rent for the past six years."

"As we are eligible for the social housing credit scheme, we were approved for a loan of around $8,500 over a 140-month term and an interest rate at 4.8 per cent per year. With a new, permanent home, we can focus on working to repay the loans in time," Hang added.

By the end of June, Hung Yen had disbursed $1.7 million out of a planned $2.47 million, accounting for almost 70 per cent of this year's goal. The province has also completed its student loans' target.

Since the introduction of the new policies, the poverty rate in Hung Yen has fallen to 1.12 per cent.