Vietnam Spends VND30T on 62 Poor Districts
During the implementation of the Vietnamese government’s program on rapid and sustainable poverty reduction in 62 poor districts of the country, over VND30 trillion have been spent building infrastructure and expanding production over the past three years. The information was announced during a meeting held on April 10-11 by the National Assembly Council for Ethnic Minority Groups and the United Nations Development Program. Under the program, which has been carried out to realize the Government’s Resolution 30a, 869 communes and towns in 20 provinces are benefiting, including 753 extremely disadvantaged communes that are invested by the second phase of another program on socio-economic development in extremely poor communes in remote and mountainous areas. According to delegates, the Government resolution has brought a large amount of investment to increase the building of socio-economic infrastructure, reduce poverty and ensure social welfare. Under the program, 83,000 houses have been built for the poor, while hundreds of traffic, irrigation, medical and education works have been inaugurated. Districts have implemented policies on supporting production, creating jobs and increasing income, helping to reduce the poverty rate in 62 poor districts to 37%, and raising average per capita income from VND 2.5 million per year to VND 6 million. In 2011-2015, the program aims to reduce the poverty rate in the 62 districts to 25%. (hanoitimes.com.vn April 23)