Ho Chi Minh City optimistic about anti-poverty scheme
Ho Chi Minh City, Oct. 20 (VNA)-- Ho Chi Minh City with a 5.4 million population, the largest in Viet Nam, is almost certain of achieving its goal to reduce the poverty rate to 3 percent by the end of this year.
The city announced that it had helped 19,374 families lift themselves out of poverty by mid-September against its yearly target of 20,000 families. The target, if achieved, means cutting nearly one-third of the total of 61,034 families listed early this year as living under the poverty line.
Of a 138.9 billion VND (almost 9.3 million USD) budget allocation, the municipal hunger eradication and poverty reduction fund has disbursed 17.99 billion VND as soft loans for start-up investment for target population. The funding has benefited 45,965 target families directly and 3,350 others indirectly through rotary credit funds for 477 mutual help groups. In addition, 204 projects have received investment from the fund, thus slotting 1,474 target workhands into jobs.
In addition to employment, the fund has managed to alleviate the target population's hardship in other aspects of life such as education, health care and housing. So far this year, of the target population, 276,782 people have been granted health insurance cards, 18,361 general school students and 110 university students exempted from tuition fees, and tens of thousands of families have received free housing. Thus, the city has basically fulfilled its goal of supplying houses for the poor.
The fund was founded 10 years ago not simply as a financial supplier but also as a legal consultant and a friend of the poor to share farming or business experience and even outlets for their products.
Last year, a Board for the Poor took shape, encouraging thousands of farmers of the poorest inner wards and suburban villages to shift from their traditional, low-profit rice farming to more lucrative aquaculture, especially shrimp raising.
The board has also managed to raise 54.8 billion VND for 80 community projects for the target communities, covering construction of roads, concrete bridges to replace bamboo ones, electricity grids, schools and medical stations, and subsidies to the target population for safe water supply.
With the funding raised by the board, 1,504 target families have received free housing, 6,219 students have been granted scholarships and 762 others supplied with bicycles to go to school while poor families have been provided with start-up investment capital to a total amount of 15.45 billion VND.--
