Hanoi is attempting to reduce the rate of poverty by 1.3%, equivalent to 27,000 poor households, in 2016, with preferential policies. More than 4,900 poor and near-poor households received preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy in the first six months of this year, a number expected to increase in the coming months. As many as 386,782 beneficiaries of Government Program 135 – which aims to improve living conditions for rural residents – have been provided with health insurance at a total cost of VND240 billion. The city has paid electricity subsidies to 65,377 disadvantaged households. The Department of Construction has submitted to the municipal People’s Committee for approval a project on accommodation for the needy in 2016 and the following years. The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs worked with the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank)’s trade union to build houses in ethnic minority and mountainous regions at a total cost of VND5 billion. As of August 14, more than 88% of underprivileged families in the capital had access to digital and cable television under the national scheme on digitizing terrestrial TV by 2020. The municipal Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has coordinated with the military-run telecom group Viettel to provide 2,000 mobile phones to low-income households in ethnic minority and mountainous regions. Hanoi is home to over 65,300 needy households and 34,000 near-poor households, accounting for 3.64% and 1.89% of total households, respectively. The capital aims to cut the rate of poverty to below 1.2% in 2020. (vietnamplus.vn Aug 16)
