Hanoi (VNA) – The capital city of Hanoi hascompleted its povertyreduction targets two years earlier than scheduled during the period of 2016-2020, with nocommunes and villages in extremely poor conditions.
Based on the multi-dimensional poverty criteria for2016-2020, poor households in Hanoi accountedfor 3.64 percent of the total in 2016. Poorhouseholds in the city were mainly found in rural areas (90 percent).
The city set the goal to reduce the rate to below 1.2percent by 2020. The rate was reduced to 1.12 percent at the endof 2018, two years ahead of the set target.
The poverty rate in Hanoi further dropped to 0.42percent at the end of 2019. Among30 districts of the city, the urban districts of Cau Giay and Hai Ba Trung nolonger have any poor households.
According to Nguyen Quang Hong, director of Cau Giaydistrict’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the district hadconducted surveys of poor households on the cause of poverty and thebeneficiaries’ specific needs for support. Those surveys helped the district identifythe most suitable and effective help to each household, ensuring they rise outof poverty in a sustainable manner.
The city’s administration considers reducing poverty and ensuring social security as a keysocio-economic development task, so has issued many specific mechanismsand policies for poverty reduction.
Deputy Director of the city’s Departmentof Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs HoangThanh Thai said, over the past time, many districts and towns in the city havetaken solutions to perform economic development tasks and build new-style ruralareas to reduce poverty.
Although the State budget must be spread around manysocio-economic fields, the capital still gives priority to improvingquality of life and municipal social security policies havebecome increasingly comprehensive.
Every month, the city providesfinancial support to elderly people who can’t look after themselves and thosewith serious health conditions who can’t work. Every year, the city providesloans via the Bank for Social Policies to help poor households and peoplewith disabilities develop businesses.
In recent years, the city has paid a monthly allowance to morethan 192,000 social policy beneficiaries (with a total budget of some 1trillion VND ayear). More than 2,700 elderly people,people with disabilities, homeless people and poor children have been taken careof at social protection centres.
The poor households also received support to repair or build houses. During2016-2020, the city has helped with the building and reparation of 7,565 houses for poor families.More than 75,000 people who are beneficiaries of social policies have receivedvocational training. Along with this, these disadvantaged groups have alsobeen provided withpreferential loans worth up to 2.4 trillion VND (nearly104 million USD).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has provided financialsupport to more than 500,000 affected people to the tune of 600 billion VND.
Due attention has also been paid to the 872,000 elderlypeople and more than 101,000 persons with disabilities in the city. Localadministrations provided them with support in diverse forms, from granting freebus passes, subsidies for health insurance, preferential loans to free medicalchecks and medicines.
Thai said that Hanoi would continue to devoteresources to sustainable poverty reduction, ensuring social security for allpeople with a focus on disadvantaged groups, ethnic minorities and people inremote areas.
Along with reviewing poor households lists, localities must bemore flexible in providing support for households to suit thecharacteristics of each locality and family.
“With these drastic solutions, the poverty reduction and socialsecurity causes of the capital have been achieving many positive results. Thishelps promote the spirit of solidarity, the strength of the political systemand the whole society, who are joining hands for the poor and not leavinganyone behind during the development cause,” Thaisaid./.
