September 30, 2017 | 17:49 (GMT+7)
Phu Tho to reduce rate of poor households to 5 percent in 2020
The Northern midland province of Phu Tho is striving to reduce the percentage of poor households to 5 percent by 2020, as part of its efforts to achieve sustainable poverty reduction and improve living conditions of local people.
According to the provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the province now has about 41,000 poor families and over 31,000 near-poor households, accounting for 10.51 percent and 8 percent of the total number, respectively.
Of these households, 33 percent are from ethnic minority groups and 23 percent have at least one welfare beneficiary.
Phu Tho plans to invest more than VND 1 trillion (USD 44 million), including VND 925 billion sourced from the state budget and VND 76 billion from the provincial funds, to carry out poverty reduction projects.
The money will be spent on developing local infrastructure, supporting production, diversifying rural livelihoods, and scaling up successful models of poverty reduction in disadvantaged communes.
To effectively implement the national target program on sustainable poverty alleviation, the department has worked with State agencies and district administrations to update the status of the poor and underprivileged areas in order to better support them, said Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Bui Duc Nhan.
It has worked to raise people’s awareness of poverty reduction and encourage them to be more independent and overcome difficulties, Nhan said, adding that it has also called on local organizations, businesses and individuals to join the efforts.
Source: VNA