A “Month for the Poor” was launched in Hanoi on October 17, with organisations and enterprises pledging to donate over 3.4 billion VND (162,000 USD) to the fund for the poor just after the launching ceremony.

Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee (VFFCC) Nguyen Thien Nhan emphasized that poverty reduction is not only an economic issue but also a condition to ensure political and social stability and to achieve the United Nation’s millennium goals.

While highlighting the positive outcomes of the 14-year charity campaign “Day for the Poor”, the VFF leader cited the statistics of the National Steering Committee for Poverty Reduction, which showed that 7.6 percent of all household nationwide still lived in poverty at the end of 2013. Therefore, stronger and more efficient assistance is needed to further reduce the poverty rate in a sustainable manner.

In the first nine months of this year, individuals and organisations at home and abroad donated nearly 2 trillion VND (95.2 million USD) to the fund for the poor run by VFF and its member organisations.

The donations were used to pay for the construction and repair of over 11,000 houses for the poor, provide financial assistance to 55,000 poor households and medical check-ups for 178,000 needy patients.

After 14 years of implementation, the Fund for the Poor has received almost 34 trillion VND (1.6 billion USD) in donations.-VNA