New poor household figures released

VGP – Việt Nam has had about 3 million poor households and over 1.6 million other households living above the new poverty line, according to a survey conducted in 2010 by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

May 30, 2011 2:26 PM GMT+7

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Under the new poverty line, a household is considered poor if its monthly income is less than VND 400,000 (some US $20) or VND 500,000 (US $25) in rural and urban areas, respectively.

Though the poverty threshold has recently been adjusted up, the rate of poor households nationwide fell down significantly to 9.45% in 2010 from 22% in 2005, according to the survey.

The northern province of Điện Biên was found to have the highest poverty rate of 50.01%, followed by Lai Châu, Lào Cai, and Hà Giang. Meanwhile, Hồ Chí Minh City, Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, and Hà Nội boasted the lowest poverty rate.

Also under the new poverty threshold, 81 poor districts in 25 provinces have reported a poverty rate of over 50%.

The results of the survey will serve as the grounds for the Government to design social welfare policies for the 2011-2015 period.

Earlier, the Government on May 19 issued Resolution No. 80 on orientations for sustainable poverty reduction for the 2011-2020 period.

The Resolution is expected to increase the average income of poor households 3.5 times higher than the current level and reduce the number of poor households by 2% per year.

By Hải Minh