Dong Nai: to raise poverty threshold to VND850,000/month

At the meeting, departments, branches agreed strongly with Department of Labors, War Invalids and Social Affairs in the project to propose raising poverty threshold in rural areas to VND650,000/month and VND850,000/month in the urban area.  

Huynh Thi Nga, Vice-Chairwoman addressed the meeting.

As expected, in the early period of the new poverty threshold, total poor households will be between 42,000-45,000, as much as 8.5% to 9% of total households. The new line to be applied will increase poor households by 44% in the country and 30% in the town, close to the reality of development and price hikes in the past five years. Besides, the number of poor households hasn’t increased rapidly and been within support range of policies and communities. However, according to representatives in the meeting, limits of this solution are not taking effects of future development and price hikes into account, so it can be backward if consumer goods, especially foods, foodstuff, medicine, which are particularly influencing products for the poor, increase sharply and unexpectedly.

 Because new poverty line of Dong Nai when applied will be higher then the expected national one (40,000 in the rural areas and 650,000 for the rural ones) and when implemented will support households who have just overcome poverty, the Department also suggested not issuing sub-poverty threshold in Dong Nai.

 Addressing the meeting, the Vice-Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Huynh Thi Nga commended efforts of Department of Labors, War Invalids, and Social Affairs for carefully preparing the draft which is based on science and appropriate to the province’s economic conditions. The Vice-Chairwoman noted that the department should improve some details of the project to submit to the provincial People’s Council for approval in the next meeting.

Reported by Van Trang, translated by Hoai Thu