HCM City’s District 5 authority visits and presents a gift to a local disadvantaged household. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ

HCM CITY — Authorities of HCM City plan to spend more than VNĐ10.2 trillion (US$433 million) on sustainable poverty-reduction programmes this year.

As part of the programme, the city will offer a credit package worth around VNĐ1.7 trillion ($72.2 million) at preferential interest rates, nearly VNĐ420 billion ($17.8 million) in non-refundable support, and VNĐ16 billion ($679,200) in sustainable poverty-reduction programmes at all levels.

Lê Văn Thinh, permanent deputy head of the city Sustainable Poverty Reduction Programme’s Steering Committee, said the city aimed to reach its target of having no poor households by the end of 2023 according to standards for the 2021-25 period.

Under the city’s poverty standards for the 2021-25 period, a poor household has an average income of below VNĐ36 million ($1,530) per year per person, and a near-poor household VNĐ36 million to VNĐ46 million ($1,950).

The city aims to reduce the number of poor households by 0.38 per cent and the number of near-poor households by 0.28 per cent, and increase the poor’s average per capita income.

Measures to help the poor include loans, vocational training, job introduction and scholarships, as well as support for education, housing, healthcare, and legal aid for the poor and near-poor.

The steering committee has asked the Party committees and authorities at all levels and sectors to strengthen information and communication activities to raise public awareness of the meaning, objectives and goals of the poverty-reduction programme.

Localities should combine the poverty-reduction programme with their annual socio-economic development programmes, Thinh said.

The solutions and policies supporting socio-economic development are implemented in the direction of gradually reducing financial assistance and increasing support for production and businesses to help poor and near-poor households to lift themselves out of poverty.

Localities and departments have also been asked to regularly review and update the list of poor households to promptly provide support.

Last year, the city had 16,100 fewer poor households and 9,700 fewer near-poor households.

By the end of last year, the whole city had more than 21,300 poor households and 18,068 near-poor households, accounting for 0.84 per cent and 0.71 per cent of the city's total households, respectively. — VNS