Hanoi is committed to making effective use of donations to improve the quality of life of the city's poor families, Hanoi People's Committee Vice Chairman Chu Xuan Dung said on October 4.

A new home was handed over to a local family in An Tien Commune of My Duc District, Hanoi in June 2022. Photo: Khac Kien

Speaking at a meeting with local businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurs, Vice Chairman Dung praised the donations to support poor families in Hanoi, as well as help the development of the Vietnamese islands.

"Hanoi will carry out effective development activities to improve the living conditions of the poor and disadvantaged so that no one is left behind," Dung said.

The vice chairman also expects businesses and entrepreneurs to contribute more to help the city effectively implement poverty reduction policies.

Hanoi will launch the “For poor people and social security 2022” campaign on October 11, which will last for one month, he said, adding the campaign would need strong support from the business community.

The capital city of Hanoi has been providing in-kind and cash support to the poor for years to enable them to overcome the state of poverty and reach new standards of living conditions in life.

The city has taken drastic measures since 2021 to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, secure living conditions for local people,  reduce poverty, stabilize business operations, and sustain socio-economic growth, Nguyen Sy Truong, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Fatherland Front Committee, said.

According to the committee, about VND10.64 trillion ($445.8 million) was allocated in 2021 to subsidize housing rent and living expenses for local workers and poor families and provide full financial aid for student medical insurance and tuition fees.

The city has received more than VND1.8 trillion worth of cash, medical equipment, and food from organizations, enterprises, and individuals to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Of the total, nearly VND550 billion has been transferred into the city’s anti-pandemic and vaccine funds.

In education and training, the city received some VND14 billion during the “Internet and computers for students” program and gave more than 10,000 electronic devices to disadvantaged students for their online learning amid the pandemic.

The city’s Fatherland Front Committee in 2021-2022 has received an average of more than VND50 billion worth of donations for the “For the Seas and Islands of Vietnam”  fund each year.

Since 2021, the organization and the "For the Poor" Fund have spent more than 76.8 billion VND on building houses for the poor and helping poor households with machinery to earn a living and improve their living conditions.

All resources have been allocated and delivered to the people, students, and those responsible for fighting the pandemic on the frontline, Truong said.

The official cited data showing that more than 3,000 families in Hanoi escaped poverty in 2021 and the results fulfill 262% of the plan set by the city. In addition, the city saw the number of poor households account for only 0.04% of the total number of families, while there were no poor households in nearly two-thirds of the city’s 30 districts.

"Hanoi really needs the support of businesses, organizations, and individuals to implement its policies and help people improve their lives," Truong said.

Chairwoman of the Hanoi Fatherland Front Committee Nguyen Lan Huong said Hanoi authorities deeply sympathize with the difficulties local businesses have faced amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Companies have remained resilient and strong to cope with adversities brought by the pandemic. Such resilience has been the key to keeping business operations stable and contributing to the city’s effective activities to assure social security and poverty reduction,” she said.

Hanoi has adopted policies and resources to take care of local poor, disadvantaged people, Huong said at the meeting.

The city’s Fatherland Front Committee welcomes all forms of support from companies to help the poor people improve their living conditions, she said.