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

Huong made an appeal at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 16 to kick off the "Month for the Poor and Social Welfare 2024", which runs until November 18. She praised businesses, organizations, and individuals for donating to help Hanoi's poor and support the city's social welfare activities.

The month aims to promote Vietnam's tradition of solidarity and mutual assistance and to mobilize additional resources to support the poor and contribute to the city's poverty reduction and social welfare goals.

Duong Duc Tuan, Vice 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. Photos: Hanoimoi

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

Over VND103 billion (US$4.1 million) from the "Fund for the Poor" was disbursed by the VFF at all levels in the first nine months of 2024 to build and renovate 1,232 houses for underprivileged people. In particular, the city's VFF committee has worked with the Hanoi People's Committee to build 714 new houses for families in need, with the aim of eliminating all dilapidated houses, Huong said.

To develop tailored assistance plans, she asked the Fatherland Front committees at all levels to assess the number of underprivileged households and their needs. Huong also asked them to work with relevant authorities and organizations to strengthen communication initiatives.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said the city has taken effective measures to improve the living conditions of low-income people, ensure social and political stability, and create a driving force for its economic development.

In the city's action plan for sustainable poverty reduction, Hanoi aims to reduce the number of poor households by 25-30% and the number of near-poor households by 10% per year, so that by 2025 there will be no poor families.  

The "Month for the Poor and Social Welfare 2024" called on individuals and organizations to contribute to building charity houses and creating livelihoods to improve the lives of the poor, Tuyen stressed.

She 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".

Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, and Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Council, make a donation to the poor at the ceremony.

The Party official stressed that Hanoi 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 as soon as possible.

The main targets of poverty alleviation are households on social assistance, ethnic minorities, people with serious illnesses, 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, and placement in employment.

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.

In late September, the Hanoi VFF committee sent an open letter to agencies, organizations, businesses, and people in the city calling for donations to the city’s “Fund for the Poor” prior to the launch.

According to the city's multidimensional poverty standards, 0.09% of the city's households are poor, the committee said in the letter, adding that community support would be important in helping the city meet its goal of helping disadvantaged households escape poverty.

At the ceremony, the city's "Fund for the Poor" received nearly VND28 billion (US$1.12 million) in donations from organizations, businesses, and individuals.

In recent years, thousands of poor households in Hanoi have received preferential loans and support for medical check-ups and treatment.

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