Nguyen Lan Huong, Chairwoman of the Hanoi Chapter of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), has called on organizations, businesses and individuals at home and abroad to continue supporting the poor by contributing to the city's Fund for the Poor and other social security programs.

Huong made the appeal at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 3 to kick off a "Month for the Poor" that will last until November. She praised businesses, organizations and individuals for donating to help poor people in Hanoi and support the city's social security activities.

According to her, caring for and helping poor households and underprivileged people to improve their living conditions has always been a special concern of the city.

The official urged committees of the Fatherland Front at all levels to cooperate with relevant authorities and agencies to promote communication activities, and asked them to survey the number of disadvantaged households and their needs in their respective areas in order to draw up specific assistance plans.

Tran Sy Thanh, Chairman of the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee, and Nguyen Lan Huong, Chairwoman of the Hanoi Chapter of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, receive the donations for the poor and thank the donors at the  ceremony. Photo: VNA

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh said the city has taken effective measures to improve the living conditions of low-income people, ensuring social and political stability and creating a driving force for its economic development.

Hanoi targets to reduce the number of poor households by 25-30% and the number of near-poor households by 10% per year, resulting in zero poor families by the end of 2025. The goal was set in the city's action plan for sustainable poverty reduction in 2022-2025.

The "Month for the Poor and Social Welfare 2023" called on individuals and organizations to contribute to building charity houses and creating livelihoods to improve the lives of the poor, Thanh stressed.

He added that the event has a profound humanistic meaning and is an opportunity to honor outstanding individuals and organizations who have made great contributions to the cause of poverty alleviation and social welfare activities under the motto "Leaving no poor people behind".

The Mayor of Hanoi stressed that the city is expected to implement a series of poverty reduction solutions, especially in localities with high poverty rates, while creating incentives for poor households to escape poverty soon.

The main targets of poverty reduction support are poor households on welfare, ethnic minorities, people suffering from serious diseases, people with disabilities, and people in the non-working age group. Poor households are helped to access basic social services such as health care, education, housing, clean water, sanitation, or job placement.

Together with the policies of the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee, the Hanoi chapter of VFF has carried out many substantial activities to help poor households and disadvantaged people improve their living conditions, thus contributing to stabilizing political and social security.

According to the city's multidimensional poverty standards, Hanoi has more than 2,100 poor households, accounting for 0.095% of the national total.

At the ceremony, the city's "Fund for the Poor" received donations worth more than VND50 billion (US$2 million) from organizations, businesses and individuals.

Recently, the city has supported the construction of 653 houses for poor households and repaired 145 others with capital from the fund. Thousands of poor households have received preferential loans and support for medical check-ups and treatment.

VFF-Hanoi Chapter receives donations sent to the following accounts: Vietnam Fatherland Front-Hanoi Chapter - "For the Poor" Fund, account number 3761.0.9057259.91046 at the Hanoi State Treasury, or bank account: 1500201116868 at the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - Hanoi Branch. Phone: 0983.477.770 - 024.3939.3380 for any questions.