Hanoi launches “Month for the Poor”

Chairwoman of the Hanoi Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Nguyen Lan Huong has called on organizations, businesses and individuals at home and abroad to continue supporting the poor, contributing to the “Fund for the Poor” as well as other social security programs of the capital city.

She made the appeal at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 11 to launch a “Month for the Poor,” which will last until November 18.

Huong praised the donations from businesses, organizations and individuals to assist poor people in Hanoi as well as support the city's social security activities.

According to her, caring for and assisting poor households and those with financial difficulties to improve their living conditions is always a special concern of the city.

The official asked the Fatherland Front committees at all levels to collaborate with relevant authorities and agencies to promote communication activities to enhance the campaign's effectiveness. They were also requested to review the number of disadvantaged households in the locality as well as their needs to make specific support plans.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung said the city has carried out effective activities to improve the living conditions of the poor and disadvantaged, contributing to ensuring social and political stability and creating a driving force for its economic development.

Hanoi targets to reduce the number of poor households by 25-30% and the number of near-poor by 10% per year, which eventually leads to no poor families by late 2025.

The goal was set in the city’s action plan on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2022-2025 period that was announced in April this year.

The total budget allocated for the program is estimated at VND 1.58 trillion (nearly USD 66 million).

The city is expected to carry out a host of poverty reduction solutions, especially in localities with high poverty rates, while creating incentives for poor households to soon escape poverty.

The main targets of poverty reduction support are poor households on welfare, ethnic minority people, those suffering severe illnesses, with a disability, or those of non-working age group. Poor households will be helped to gain access to basic social services such as healthcare, education, housing, clean water, hygiene, or job placement.

The vice chairman also called on businesses, organizations and individuals to contribute more to the city’s poverty reduction work.

According to Hanoi VFF committee, the city’s “Fund for the Poor” has received VND 56.2 billion (USD 2.3 million) from organizations, enterprises and individuals since 2021.

The city supported the building of 653 houses for poor households and repaired 145 other houses with capital sourced from the fund. Thousands of poor households have accessed preferential loans and received support in medical examination and treatment.

During the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the city had received more than VND 1.8 trillion worth of cash, medical equipment, and food from organizations, enterprises, and individuals, along with about VND 14 billion donated to the “internet and computers for students” program and more than 10,000 electronic devices presented to disadvantaged students for their online learning during the pandemic.

At the ceremony, organizations and enterprises pledged to donate over VND 30 billion to the fund for the poor.

The municipal People’s Committee and VFF committee also handed over 200 houses, 20 cows and 15 motorbikes to poor households in the city on the occasion.

Earlier in late September, the Hanoi VFF committee sent an open letter to agencies, organizations, businesses and people in the city calling for donations to the city’s “Fund for the poor”, on the occasion of the “Month for the Poor”.

In the letter, the committee said that 0.16% of the city’s households are poor. Therefore, community support would be of great significance, contributing to the city’s fulfillment of its target of creating conditions for households living in difficult circumstances to escape poverty.

The Hanoi VFF committee receives support through the following accounts: Vietnam Fatherland Front – Hanoi chapter – “For the poor” Fund, account number: 3761.0.9057259.91046 at the Hanoi State Treasury, or bank account: 1500201116868 at the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - Hanoi branch.