Danang Aims for Lower Poverty Rate

The central city of Danang has earmarked more than VND1,000 billion for a poverty reduction project over the 2013–2017 period.The city wants the project to raise all disadvantaged households beyond the special poor classification by 2016.To achieve the goal, Danang will mobilize all available resources to provide its poor with accommodation, electricity and clean water supplies, low-cost healthcare services, and preferential loans—all hopefully helping them stabilize their lives.Danang currently has 22,000 households living under the rural poverty line of VND600,000/person/month and the urban poverty line of VND800,000/person/month. It amounts to 9.1 percent of the city’s total population.Municipal authorities have built new houses for thousands of poor people and provided vocational training to nearly 2,000 people.During the New Year holidays, more than 3,000 tons of food are donated annually to social policy beneficiaries and the poor. (VOV Jan 13)