Society

Programme targets 1.5 percent annual poverty reduction by 2020

The national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction for 2016-20 aims to see an average drop of 1.5 percent in the number of impoverished households each year and 4 percent annually in impoverished localities.
The national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction for2016-20 aims to see an average drop of 1.5 percent in the number ofimpoverished households each year and 4 percent annually in impoverishedlocalities.

The general goals of the programme areto speed up poverty reduction, minimising poverty relapse and createfavourable conditions for the poor to access basic social services.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, theprogramme is estimated to cost nearly 43 trillion VND (1.97 billionUSD).

The investment will be allocated to sixcomponent projects, including those to support infrastructure buildingin impoverished coastal, island and border localities; assistproduction; diversify livelihoods; and increase communications andcapacity in implementing the programme.

In a meetingon June 3 with the Standing Committee of the National SteeringCommittee for Sustainable Poverty Reduction to discuss investment planfor the programme, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, who is also Headof the committee, asked the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry ofPlanning and Investment to ensure adequate investment for the programme.

The ministries should not cut capital for theprogramme when integrating it with other national target programmes andrather give it the highest priority, especially in localities with highrates of poor households, he directed.

Meanwhile,ministries and localities should increase investment in boostingproduction, which he described as a foundation for sustainable povertyreduction.

Ministries should also expand loanprovisions for the poor and broaden the list of beneficiaries, urged theDeputy PM, noting that bad debt involving poor households are only 0.4percent.

He also mentioned a new approach tomultidimensional poverty standards, which are needed to define adequateinvestments for infrastructure and production in poor areas.-VNA
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