VietNamNet Bridge – The Central Steering Committee of the National Target Programs has expressed its determination to achieve the poverty reduction target set by the National Assembly for 2016-2020, the Government said on its news website (chinhphu.vn).

People are seen traveling on a concrete road in a new urban area in north-central Vietnam. The Central Steering Committee of the National Target Programs has expressed its determination to achieve the poverty reduction target set by the National Assembly for 2016-2020.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, head of the steering committee, chaired a meeting to review the committee’s performance in 2016 and discuss a plan for 2017 at the Government Office on Tuesday.

Last year, an additional 15 districts and 828 more communes met new rural standards, a two-fold increase and a rise of 9.2% from the end of 2015 respectively. By end-2016, there had been 2,358 communes (26.43%) meeting new rural standards nationwide, 1.43% higher than the year’s target.

The State budget allocated some VND11 trillion to fund health insurance coverage for 16 million poor people. Meanwhile, more than VND5.64 trillion was spent to finance tuition exemptions, reductions and assistance for some 3.8 million students from poverty-stricken families.

A preferential credit policy was adopted with over VND27.3 trillion lent to more than 862,000 poor, near-poor and middle-income households, as well as over 21,000 students from poor backgrounds. VND1.1 trillion in power price subsidies went to around two million beneficiaries.

Despite the impacts of natural disasters, drought, saltwater intrusion and marine pollution on the central coast, the national poverty rate by the end of 2016 was down by 1.3 -1.5% from the end of 2015 to 8.58-8.38%.

General director Duong Quyet Thang of Vietnam Bank for Social Policies said local funds for the poverty reduction credit program had amounted to about VND1.88 trillion last year, the highest so far and equaling the figure of the six preceding years combined.

As the Ministry of Finance allocated sufficient funds, banks could accomplish their targets, with VND55.15 trillion of loans made to nearly 2.3 million eligible households.

Thang proposed the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance help the bank balance its chartered capital so that it could carry out its assigned tasks in the coming time and boost financing for clean water and rural sanitation projects.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said the country achieved good results in the process of developing new rural areas and reducing poverty last year.

To fulfill the tasks for 2017, Hue told ministries to further improve the regulatory framework by the end of the first quarter.

Regarding resources, he suggested the agencies concerned should build a legal framework for allocation of resources, especially for the poverty reduction program, and focus on improve institutions and policies to lure investment into agriculture and poverty reduction given the budget constraints the Government is facing.

SGT