Poverty reduction in 5 years: ensure social security

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In early 2006, the whole province had 41,726 poor households, accounting for 9.84%, of which mainly are located in rural, mountainous, deep-lying, remote and ethnic minority areas. The majority of poor households often work as farmers and hired laborers, having no land to cultivate or living in leaking and dilapidated houses; not having clean water and electricity for daily use; having low income and difficult living conditions. At that time, Dong Nai province had 6 special difficulty-hit communes, 17 poor communes, 63 communes in difficult areas, and 70 special difficulty-hit hamlets with higher rate of poor households and poor infrastructure.

Based on the Resolution of the 8th provincial Party Committee Congress (the 2006-2010 tenure), the province has strived to reduce to 27,000 poor households, lowering poor household rate by below 4% by the end of 2010. The province has planned to ensure that poor households would not only overcome their difficult situations but also have enough conditions to integrate into the socio-economic development in each locality.

 

      With such specific solutions, policies and activities as providing preferential loans to poor households through the Bank for Social Policy; providing budget capital support; technical transfer, vocational training; education and health support, etc., the province in the first 3 years (2006-2008) reduced the number of poor households to 26,251, accounting for 154.41% of the set plan, lowering the poor household rate by 3.33%. Moreover, the province dismissed 17/17 poor communes. The living conditions of local residents and infrastructure in poor regions have somehow been obviously improved, the average income has increased to VND356,000/month from VND174,000/month.

In the process of implementing poverty reduction task, although the first results have made contribution to improving local residents’ living conditions, economic downturn and high inflation also has made the old standards of poverty unsuitable. In early December, 2008, Dong Nai People’s Council issued the Resolution No.128/NQ-HDND on new poverty standards. Accordingly, urban households with average monthly per capita income equal or less than VND650,000 will be deemed poor, and the figure for rural households is VND450,000. In early 2009, the province had 42,871 poor households, accounting for 8.59%. The province expects to reduce the number of poor households by 50% by the end of 2010. The poor household rate has so far been 4%, exceeding the set target. The most important thing in poverty reduction task is that local residents’ awareness has been changed positively. They no longer replied on the State’s support as well as expected help from the State, but have struggled to overcome difficulties by themselves.

 

These achievements are thanks to guidelines from the Party Committees at all levels in Dong Nai province and cooperation efforts of all units, especially the provincial Steering Committee of poverty reduction and Department of Labors, War Invalids and Social Affairs. More and more public employees who participate in poverty reduction task have improved their professional skills. They could master the situations and expectations made by local residents, timely proposing suitable and specific solutions.

In the next 5 years (2010-2015), the province plans to urgently check poor household based on new poverty standards under the Resolution No.176/2010/NQ-HDND of the provincial People’s Council. The province has strived to reduce the number of poor households to 35,000, lowering the poor household rate by below 2% by end-2015. It is expected to reduce the gap between the rich and poor in all regions and all walks of life. The province plans to ensure enough infrastructures and basic services in service of production development for communes and hamlets in mountainous, remote and deep-lying areas.

In addition to the implementation of policies and projects for the poor, the provincial Steering Committee of poverty reduction will widen the typical models of poverty reduction, mobilizing all sources in the community to gather creative, effective solutions to poverty reduction, and step by step changing the awareness of poverty reduction and the poor’s income. This is the first step for Dong Nai province to continue carrying out the national targeted program on poverty reduction, quickly striving to reduce the number of poor households, raising local residents’ living conditions, and creating favorable conditions for the province to develop with the orientation of industrialization and modernization.

Reported by Thuy An, Translated by Minh Minh