The United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and Ireland Oct 17 announced an aid worth $10 million to support Vietnam in sustainable poverty reduction, the government said on its website. The information was released at a ceremony in Hanoi to make public the newly-approved national target program on poverty reduction for the 2012-2015 period and initiate the poverty reduction project backed by the UNDP and Ireland. The program is part of the national socio-economic development plan, in which Vietnam will spend VND27.5 trillion ($1.3 billion) to increase the average income of poor households nationwide by 160% by 2015, said Head of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)’s Co-ordination Office for the Poverty Reduction Program Ngo Truong Thi. It aims to reduce the number of poor households by 2% each year during the period, build roads in 60% of villages and communes and supply electricity to over 90% of the national population. The technical assistance project funded by the UNDP and Ireland aims to improve ministries and agencies’ competence in implementing, supervising and assessing poverty reduction of and popularize creative models nationwide. It will be carried out in Ha Giang, Dien Bien, Cao Bang, Bac Can, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, Kon Tum and Tra Vinh provinces from 2012 to 2016. Vietnam’s poverty reduction rate remains unequal among the regions and population groups. In some areas, the poverty rate, even extreme poverty, is high, especially among ethnic minority groups and in coastal and mountainous areas, according to the UNDP’s Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta. Ms. Mehta added that progress in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) among ethnic minority groups is slower than the national average, while the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. A part of the population live on the edge of poverty and can become poor again if natural disasters, economic woes or health-related incidents happen, the official added. The coordinator also emphasized the need to create more jobs for young people and farmers, protect vulnerable groups and offer better social services to ensure sustainable poverty reduction. Poverty reduction in Vietnam remains a priority as new forms of poverty are emerging, experts said, urging the country to combine poverty eradication with disaster mitigation because they are closely linked. By March 2012, up to 2.58 million households were deemed poor and 1.53 million near-poor, as shown in a national survey by the MoLISA. (baodientu.chinhphu.vn Oct 17, Nhan Dan – The People Oct 17)
