Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has called on organizations and individuals at home and abroad to support poor people across the country. He made the appeal at the Hanoi event to launch the “Month for the Poor” (Oct 17-Nov 18) on Oct 17. Deputy PM Ninh said that poverty reduction and care for the poor, especially the poor in mountainous, remote areas and disaster-prone regions, is one of the priorities of the Party and state. “Only by reducing poverty can we ensure political and social stability and national defense and security,” he highlighted. In the first nine months of this year, individuals and organizations at home and abroad contributed over VND4.4 trillion to the Fund for the Poor and the social welfare program. They also contributed to the building and repairing of 65,000 houses for the poor as well as over 1,360 public works. However, there are still 2.6 million poor households and 1.5 million others living near the poverty line across the country, accounting for 12% and 7% of the national population, according to Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee Huynh Dam. At the ceremony, organizations and enterprises pledged to donate VND2.7 billion to the Fund for the Poor. Vietnam seems to have poured huge investments into less important projects in the context that thousands of residents are living in poverty, experts said. The government has pledged to increase its spending on poverty reduction and disaster mitigation despite the economic meltdown in a bid to reduce the poverty rate to 10% in 2012 and 4%-5% by 2020 from 12% in 2011. (Nhan Dan – The People Oct 18, Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Oct 18 p1, Cong An Nhan Dan –People’s Police Oct 18 p1)
