Individuals and businesses have donated to charity drives for the poor, contributing to the implementation of the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction.

Cows presented to poor households

The statement was made by President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man on August 21 when co-chairing a working session, together  with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, on the outcomes of “For the poor” fund raising activities and preparations for a live programme themed “Joining hands for the poor”.

Man noted that the poverty rate in remote, border and island areas remains high, stressing the need to continue implementing the “Joining hands for the poor” programme annually to raise public awareness and mobilise more resources for poverty reduction.

Deputy PM Hue, head of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programmes, spoke highly of the outcomes of the “Joining hands for the poor” programme 2017, and asked ministries and sectors to work with the VFF to organise the 2018 programme slated for October 17.

Along with intensifying communications, it is necessary to honour individuals who stand out in poverty reduction work and launch a text-message campaign to raise funds for the poor, he added.

According to Vice President of the VFF Central Committee Truong Thi Ngoc Anh, during the “Joining hands for the poor” programme in 2017, 104 enterprises, units and individuals registered to donate nearly 280 billion VND (12.3 million USD) to the “For the poor” fund and social welfare programmes.

In the first half of this year, the “For the poor” fund also received 529 billion VND (23.3 million USD), while agencies and businesses donated more than 1.6 trillion VND (70.5 million USD) to social welfare programmes in localities nationwide.

In the period, from the “For the poor” fund, the VFF spent 13 billion VND building houses for poor households, providing scholarships for poor students and presenting gifts to the poor on the occasion of the lunar New Year festival.

Localities also helped build or repair nearly 18,000 houses, provided support for more than 114,000 poor households and offered free medical check-ups and treatment for nearly 2 million poor people.

(Source: VNA)