The number of poor households in Vietnam decreased by 58.12%, equal to 6 million people, in the 2016-2019 period.

The information was given by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung at an online meeting held in Hanoi on December 11 to review the implementation of the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction between 2016 and 2020.

 Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs speaks at the meeting.

The event saw the participation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the Central Steering Committee for the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction in the 2016-2020 period.

According to Dung, Vietnam’s poverty rate in 2019 was estimated at around 3.75% compared to 9.88% in 2015 and 58.1% in 1993. The rate is expected to stand at 2.75% this year.

From 2016 to 2019, roughly 2 million people in Vietnam were removed from the list of those living under the poverty line.

Dung cited a report from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the income of the poor in Vietnam increased by 2.3 times between 2016 and 2020. During this period, more than 13,000 projects to help improve the poor’s living conditions were carried out.

Under the National Target Programme on Sustainable Poverty Reduction in the 2016-2020 period, more than 2.5 poor households were provided with vocational training and job opportunities. Around 5,500 people in poor households and ethnic minority groups were sent abroad to work.

Every year, Vietnam uses some VND25 trillion (USD1.08 billion) to support the poor. Dtinews