Seventy businesses, organisations and individuals who set bright examples in helping the poor were honoured at a meeting held in Hanoi on October 1 by the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programmes and the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee.

 Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue (first row, right) presents certificates
of merit to organisations, individuals with contributions to the fund  

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue highlighted that Vietnam is among the first countries in the world to complete the UN’s Millennium Goal on poverty reduction and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

 The Government leader, who is also head of the steering committee, emphasized that the Party and State have always paid attention to poverty reduction and social welfare. He noted that spending on social security has been increasing at an average of more than 20 percent a year, far higher than the annual economic growth of 7-8 percent.

 Besides spending from the State budget, the Government also channeled more than 200 trillion VND through loans of the Bank for Social Policies to needy people over the past 15 years.

“Not only the better-off help the poor, but also the needy share among each other, which is the valuable tradition of our nation,” Deputy PM Hue said.

 He went on to praise organization and individuals both in and outside the countries which have joined hands with the Party and State in reducing poverty. In total, philanthropists have donated more than 50 trillion VND over the past nine years to help the poor in the country, not to mention many donors who do not want their contributions to be made public.

 That is why the Steering Committee and the VFF think it is necessary to express gratitude to them in different forms, Hue said.

 Thanks to the efforts, the poverty rate among households in the country dropped to 5.23 percent at the end of 2018, equivalent to 1.3 million households, a reduction of 1.47 percent from one year ago. The poverty rate among ethnic minority households decreased by 4.72 percent to 22.84 percent.

 In the past three years, eight districts and 200 communes have risen out of the poverty status.

 However, Deputy PM Hue said the rate of poverty relapse is still high, particularly after the strike of natural calamities such as storms and floods, which requires the Government and localities to continue taking more synchronous and effective policies, and use resources in a more effective manner.

 He revealed that the Government will soon submit to the National Assembly a master plan on sustainable socio-economic development in ethnic and border communes.

 President of the VFF Central Committee Tran Thanh Man announced that the VFF will organize a month for the poor, starting October 17, with the aim of mobilizing donations to build houses and prepare a warm Lunar New Year festival for the needy across the country.