Vietnam to Spend More Funds for Poverty Reduction in 2012

The Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) plans to raise the state budget for poverty reduction program this year, said a senior official from the ministry. Ngo Truong Thi, head of the ministry’s co-ordination office for the poverty reduction program said that the MoLISA will also call on further supports from individuals and enterprises for the program. Accordingly, each poor district would receive up to VND250 billion ($11.9 million) this year, compared to around VND200 billion ($9.52 million) from the previous year. Meanwhile, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) will finance seven poor districts, and PetroVietnam, Vietcombank and VietinBank have also pledged to lend some poor districts. The priority would be given to the poorest areas first in order to ensure funds and manpower are allocated wisely, he said, inserting that top priority would be given to northwest mountainous provinces like Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang. The ministry also set a target to increase the incomes of households in poverty by 160% over last year’s levels, with a goal to boost the incomes of poor ethnic households and households in remote areas by 250%. In 2009-2011, the state budget allocated a total of VND8.5 trillion for the poverty reduction program focusing on infrastructure development. More than 2,000 construction projects were implemented, including roads, bridges, clinics and schools, and over 34,000 dilapidated homes were repaired. The government aims at cutting the poverty rate to 10% in 2012 from 12% in 2011. This year’s poverty reduction program will focus on building infrastructure works and creating jobs for local residents in disadvantaged areas. (Vietnam News Feb 2 p3)