The ceremony was jointly held by the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on the evening of 15 October.
Over the past 17 years, the movement to assist the poor in escaping poverty has been widely expanded in society.
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (C) at the event. Photo: VNA
So far, more than VND 13 trillion has been donated to the “For the poor” fund at all levels while social welfare programs in localities nationwide have received VND 36 trillion. The money has contributed to building and repairing more than 1.4 million “Great unity” houses for the poor.
Furthermore, millions of poor households have received financial assistance and production means and dozens of welfare facilities have been upgraded, making contributions to effectively meeting the national goals of sustainable poverty reduction and new-style rural area building.
Addressing the event, PM Phuc affirmed that hunger elimination and poverty reduction has always been a major policy that the Party and the State has paid due attention to and given priority to in the national socio-economic development cause.
The PM noted that in the 2011-2015 period, over VND 5 trillion was contributed to the “For the poor” fund by domestic and international businesses, organizations and individuals. As a result, thousands of “Great unity” houses were built, millions of poor people were assisted with health-care, education, production and business development and the integrated strength of the society was duplicated, making contributions to the improved spiritual and material lives of the poor and to the heightened noble human values of the nation.
Emphasizing positive outcomes of the poverty reduction work, PM Phuc hoped that together with the State’s prioritized resources and the efforts of the poor, more support from domestic and international organizations and individuals is needed for sustainable poverty reduction and the building of new-style rural areas.
PM Phuc added that thousands of compatriots are facing devastating floods and a large number of people are homeless and have had their properties washed away by the floods. Among them, lots of households which had escaped from poverty could return to poverty. “We should continue encouraging and supporting them in a responsible and affectionate manner”, said PM Phuc.
At the ceremony, domestic and international organizations and individuals contributed and pledged to donate a total of VND 264 billion to the poor in the coming time.
Translated by Mai Huong