Vietnam Gov’t Offers $5.43B Preferential Credits in Poverty Reduction in Decade

The Vietnamese government has channeled VND114 trillion ($5.43 billion) to assist 21.4 million poor households in poverty reduction through networks of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) over the past ten years. The information was released at a conference in Hanoi on April 15 to review VBSP’s activities over the past decade. Of the beneficiaries, over 2.9 million households have escaped from poverty. More than 98,000 laborers have been sent abroad while million of poor students have gained access to subsidized loans to pursue their studies. In addition, over 4.2 million water supply and environmental hygiene works and 484,000 houses have been built up. Addressing the event, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung praised the bank’s role in mobilizing financial sources and effectively implementing state credit programs and affirmed that state always gives top priority to reducing poverty and ensuring social welfare. The PM asked the State Bank of Vietnam, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Investment to improve the financial capacity and active role of the VBSP in order to meet the increasing loan demand for the poor and social policy beneficiaries. Vietnam has decided to spend VND2.4 trillion to support sustainable poverty reduction in 23 poor districts in the 2013-2017 period, said the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affair (MoLISA). (Sai Gon Giai Phong – Saigon Liberation April 16 p1, Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi April 16 p1, vov.vn April 15)