The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu will employ various measures to lift 2,950 households out of poverty this year, cutting the household poverty rate down to 2 percent from 5.29 percent in 2014.

Bac Lieu also targets assistance to 4,300 families just above the poverty line in 2015.

To realise these objectives, the province will conduct a survey to reveal the primary causes of poverty to devise appropriate support measures. It will also survey ineffectively used coastal alluvial grounds for their potential use as a source of income for impoverished households.

Bac Lieu will encourage philanthropists, agencies, and organisations to sponsor targeted families. Provincial State agencies have already committed to supporting 510 households with capital, work tools, and production means in 2015.

The province will also diversify vocational training to meet the local demand and skill. About 12,000 people are expected to undergo training this year, raising the rate of skilled labourers to 30 percent.

The province will facilitate production and business activities to create jobs while raising funds for social welfare. All impoverished households and those just above the poverty line will receive health insurance cards and electricity fee subsidies.

In 2014, local State agencies and businesses provided aid to more than 4,960 disadvantaged families and assisted 3,137 households to escape poverty. Up to 2,515 houses were built for the targeted beneficiaries and more than 160 billion VND (7.62 million USD) was collected for the local Social Welfare Fund.-VNA