LÀO CAI — More than 2.2 million eligible households in the northwestern region received loans totaling more than VNĐ44.9 trillion (US$2 billion) from the Bank for Social Policy over the past five years.

Loan recipients include poor households, near-poor households and other social welfare beneficiaries, including over 1.5 million ethnic minority households. These statistics were announced at a conference held yesterday in the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai to review the implementation of credit policy in the northwestern region during 2011-15.

During the time period reviewed, the average credit growth rate in the region reached 12.6 per cent, 2.8 per cent higher than the national average.

The credit project has contributed to implementing target programmes in the region, including poverty reduction, job generation, new rural area construction and human resources development.

The programme has helped 318,000 households exceeding the poverty line, created jobs for nearly 114,000 workers, including 6,000 labourers working abroad, and built more than 681,000 safe water supply stations and toilets in rural areas.

Nearly 61,000 houses were built for poor households and other social welfare beneficiaries in the region, thanks to the credit programme.

As a result, the poverty rate in the region dropped from 34.58 per cent in 2010 to 14.97 per cent in 2015.

The Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs, Nguyễn Văn Bình, told conference attendees that the Party and State highly appreciated the encouraging results of the Bank for Social Policy, which has supported localities in carrying out socioeconomic development plans, particularly in sustainable poverty reduction, ensuring social security and political stability.

Bình, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Northwestern Region, asked conference participants to discuss a number of issues, including shortcomings and possible solutions for implementing credit policy in the region.

Measures to expand and improve the efficiency of credit activities and socioeconomic development for the region during 2016-2020 were also high on the agenda of the conference. - VNS